Skylanders Academy: Song of the Hunt
by andresponceb2002
Summary: After deafeating Omen, Spyro and the Skylanders can see their lives slowly return to normal. However, six sleeping dragons lay in the Academy and unlike them, evil dosen't rest. When a twisted foe from a dark past that refuses to stay buried, returns to torment the Skylanders, Spyro and his freinds will need a helping hand. New allies and enemies await in this brand new adventure!
1. Chapter 1

**Skylanders Academy: Song of the Hunt**

by andresponce2002

 **Chapter 1) Stoking the Fire**

The sky was dyed a clear, beautiful blue hue. Clouds passed slowly through the sky as a new day dawned on the Skylands. The day was as peaceful as it was beautiful. Many Skylanders were already out and about on the Academy, walking and talking as they all got ready for a brand new adventure.

However, the peace was slowly disturbed, causing the Skylanders to raise their brows, confused by the intensifying sounds of breathless panting and rapid steps.

"Kaossandra!" A squeaky voice shouted between exhausted breaths. "There's an emergency!"

The voice belonged to Hugo. The small mabu sprinted toward the Academy as fast as his short legs allowed him to, leaving a crowd of confused Skylanders in his wake.

Hugo quickly found himself before the large blue gates to the Academy common room, however, the small mabu did not enter. Instead, he slumped against the blue wooden doors, breathing heavily.

"I need to get into cardio." Hugo told himself as he tried evening his breath, composing himself enough to push open the large gates before him.

As Hugo opened the Academy gates, he hurriedly moved inside, his eyes darting across the wide room, searching for someone.

"Kaossandra!?" Hugo called outloud, nearing the center of the room, still looking around in search for the sorceress. "Kaossandra, where are you!?" He asked.

Then, the sound of a heavy bookcase sliding to the side resonated through the room, making Hugo suddenly fall silent. "What is it Hugo?" Kaossandra's voice sounded as the sorceress, dressed in her usual black, gold and purple attire emerged from the Relics Room.

Kaossandra looked expectantly at Hugo, who swallowed quickly before answering. "We have a situation." He said nervously, giving Kaossandra a worried look.

* * *

Spyro was sitting down on _the_ thinking spot. He was looking out at the horizon, his eyes looking at something a thousand miles away, his mind drifting deep in thought.

"Where are you?" Spyro asked the wind. "When are you coming back?"

Despite being alone, Spyro felt like he was speaking his words to someone in particular, someone he was waiting to see again.

Cyrus, a purple dragon Spyro had met almost a month ago. Despite both being descendants from the greatest lineage of heros in the realm, for a while, Spyro and Cyrus had been enemies. Mutual despise and several battles ensured a very rocky start to their relationship, but as time progressed and the truth of who they were was revealed to them, their relationship changed. They went from enemies, to brothers.

Afterwards, Cyrus played an instrumental part in helping the Skylanders defeat Omen, the Master of the Knights of Solitude and hence, in saving the Skylands. However, after that, Cyrus had decided to leave, torn with guilt for his misdeeds, in search of his and Spyro's parents. Despite the two brothers promising to meet again, more than a week had passed, and Spyro had not seen or heard a word from his brother, something that made Spyro's heart heavy.

"I guess…" Spyro began, letting out a long, deflated sigh. "You'll let me know, right?" He said slowly, speaking to the wind one last time, hoping to receive an answer.

After a moment passed, followed by another and silence endured, Spyro decided to take off. Using his wings to boost himself off the ground, Spyro headed back to the Academy realizing he wasn't going to get to hear his brother's voice, not today.

* * *

Pop Fizz was sitting on a small wooden stool in the Academy infirmary, looking eagerly at a set of small beds in front of him.

The blue gremlin was watching over six sleeping figures, all lined up neatly through the first floor of the infirmary, deep in sleep. These figures, were who Pop Fizz had known for a long time to be The Knights of Solitude, a gang of evil, brainwashed dragons that worked for Omen, the world's most dangerous living trash can in the Skylands.

However, ever since Omen was defeated over a week ago, the six villains had fallen into a harmless, comatose sleep, leaving out the fact that their appearance had changed dramatically. The previously featureless darkness that engulfed the six dragons had dissipated and revealed their true features, which were all quite impressive.

Each dragon looked completely different to the other or even from Spyro. One had bushy green scales and several yellow horns, the other rough, rock-like skin and was twice the size of most of the others. One had a weird beak and bird talons as well as red feathers, another, had cyan fur instead of scales, as well as a smooth white horn on their forehead. There was one that had strange blue metallic attachments to his coppery body and the last one had deep, blue scales and fish-like tail and gills.

Pop Fizz had been watching over these dragons ever since they were brought to the Academy, in hopes of giving them a hand when they woke up. However, even now, more than a week after, the six of them had stayed knocked out and Pop Fizz was starting to get worried.

"Hey…" Pop Fizz whispered to the sleeping dragons. "Are you awake in there?" He asked, still keeping his voice down.

The blue gremlin received no answer, the six dragons did not flinch or move at all.

"Alright." Pop Fizz whispered again. "Just… uhhh… sleep tight, I guess." He said, slowly getting off the wooden stool he was on and moving to leave the infirmary.

But, after Pop Fizz took a couple of steps headed toward the exit, a strange sound came from behind the blue Skylander. The sound was like a groan, short but distinct. It made Pop Fizz turn around faster than he ever had in his life.

The blue gremlin faced the six slumbering dragons. They were all just as they had been before Pop Fizz had moved to leave.

"I must be hearing things." Pop Fizz said to himself. "Probably tested one too many potions on myself, hehe." He added, scratching the back of his head as he moved to exit the Academy infirmary, leaving the six sleeping dragons alone.

* * *

Stealth Elf was meditating in her room, sitting cross-legged on her bed with her eyes closed. Her hands were laid out to her sides, the tips of her index fingers and thumbs connecting as she hummed steadily.

As silence hung over her room, and she cleared her mind, peace found its way into Stealth Elf's being. She had been practicing this form of meditation in private for quite a while, ever since…

Stealth Elf's ears suddenly twitched. Her expression suddenly changed from calm to strain. A painful memory crawled onto Stealth Elf's mind, searing itself in place and getting her out of her peaceful meditation.

With a short sigh, Stealth Elf slumped forward, her pointy ears drooping down. "Are you proud?" Stealth Elf asked, keeping her eyes close. "Are you proud of me?" She asked again in a small voice, slowly opening her eyes and turning her head to her side, toward the small wooden desk in her room.

On that desk, standing out from pictures of Stealth Elf and her friends, was a large genie lamp. It's shiny pink and purple surface reflected Stealth Elf's face. The lamp belonged to Ninjini the Great, one of the legendary Giants, as well as Stealth Elf's mentor and idol. The memory of Ninjini had stayed with Stealth Elf for a long time, and for the most part, it was a memory she cherished, but the fact that she was gone, that Stealth Elf could see her anymore, made Stealth Elf's heart ache from time to time.

The genie had entrusted Stealth Elf with her legacy, something Stealth Elf took very seriously in upholding, but it was something that weighted greatly on Stealth Elf. The task of living up to the legend of someone like Ninjini was no easy feat, a feat Stealth Elf was not quite sure she had accomplished so far.

So, with another sigh, Stealth Elf got off from her bed, slowly walking over to her room's door, set on doing something other than wallow.

As Stealth Elf passed by her small desk, she ran the tip of her fingers over the surface of Ninjini's lamp. The smooth surface was cold against her fingertips, yet, the cool feeling was comforting to Stealth Elf. Her lips curled slightly upward in a tiny smile, before walking out of her room, leaving the purple lamp glistening on her desk.

* * *

Spyro was soaring through the sky, heading toward the Academy to meet his friends. As he got closer and closer to the familiar structure, Spyro could see several of his friends heading to the Academy common room. Among them were, Stealth Elf, Pop Fizz and Eruptor, but Jet-Vac and Cynder were nowhere to be seen.

Spyro remembered why this was the case. It was friday, Taco Night. This meant that, in honor to the deal Cynder and Malefor had arranged to allow Cynder to become a Skylander in peace, the violet dragoness was spending the day with her father in the Underworld.

This arrangement sounded rather shifty, so, Jet-Vac volunteered to go and "oversee" the father-daughter meeting in secret and judge what the situation was. However, in the meantime, Spyro had other, more immediate concerns.

"Guys!" Spyro called from above his friends, who turned their heads toward him as an answer to his call.

As the purple dragon landed near his friends he picked up. "What's up? Why are you all heading to the common room?"

"Uhhhh..." Pop Fizz began, scratching his chin and looking up toward the sky. "Same as you?" He said unconvincingly.

"We were on our way to see if we have any Skylander duties." Eruptor interjected. "Ya know, since we're Skylanders and all."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Spyro agreed simply. "Umm, anyone wanna go first?" He asked as he gestured at the large blue doors that lead into the Academy.

"After you." Stealth Elf said, puting one of her hands on her hip and giving Spyro a small smile, a gesture he returned, alongside a friendly nod.

At that, Spyro began moving to the doors. He pressed his paws against the smooth wooden surface and pushed open the two gates, allowing him and his friends to enter the common room.

Once the Skylanders began to head toward the center of the room, they noticed that Hugo was speaking to Kaossandra, who was sitting on Eon's old desk, a grave look on her face.

"Oh, this will be good." Eruptor grumbled behind Spyro.

At that, Kaossandra's eyes wandered from Hugo over to the Skylanders. "Ah, Skylanders. You are all just in time." She announced.

"In time for what, Kaossandra?" Spyro wandered.

"Hugo, you may leave." Kaossandra said in a calm voice, dismissing the mabu assistant with a small wave of her hand.

At that, Hugo sprinted out of the room, waving at the Skylanders innocently before exiting through the main gates, closing them behind him.

After this, the Skylanders were left alone with Kaossandra, who remained sat down on her new desk. After a small pause, she spoke. "I trust you all remember the One-Eyed Legion?" She asked simply.

The question made the Skylanders react, memories of an army of evil cyclop army Omen had recruited, suddenly returning to their minds.

"Yeah, we remember." Spyro stated.

"Well." Kaossandra picked up. "After the battle of Maraino Castle, where you all stopped Omen, most of the One-Eyed Legion's forces were destroyed. With their leader, Enumat being defeated alongside Omen, they were all cast out to the wind." Kaossandra explained. "However, recently, there have been a multitude if reports stating that small bands of cyclops are forming all across the Skylands. That members of the remains of the One-Eyed Legion are grouping up with rouge, unaffiliated cyclops to form gangs. If this is true, it means that the embers of the One-Eyed Legion are rekindling."

At that, Spyro couldn't help but frown slightly in concern. The thought of having to deal with the One-Eyed Legion _twice_ was not his idea of a good time.

"Some of the guys from the One-Eyed legion survived?" Eruptor asked, not as worried as Spyro by Kaossandra's announcement. "So what? It's not like they're a serious problem without a leader." He finished in a confident tone and smile

"That's the issue." Kaossandra continued, making Eruptor's smile disperse. "There are also rumors that these one-eyed monsters are getting a new leader." She said, making Spyro listen in very carefully. "According to some whispers, whispers Hugo caught wind of, his name is Unulus, and he is trying to resuscitate the One-Eyed Legion."

"So, let me guess." Spyro interjected. "We have to stop this Unulus guy from bringing together all these little cyclop gangs and making the One-Eyed Legion a bad sequel, right?" He asked, trying to understand their new assignment.

"Exactly." Kaossandra answered. "According to the information Hugo gave me, Unulus is planning on gathering a couple of these groups already at _Le Circle_."

"Ohhh, right!" Pop Fizz said suddenly. "It's that fancy restaurant from that other time! I guess that's a good place to for a big meeting."

"Well, we have to stop that meeting." Stealth Elf began, turning her head from Pop Fizz toward Kaossandra. "When do we leave?" She asked eagerly.

This made the sorcessed give her a confident smile. "Whenever you are ready, Skylanders."

* * *

"How do you think this Unulus guy looks like?" Spyro asked Eruptor as the two of them and their friends were heading toward the Academy's Portal Gates.

"I think." Eruptor began. "He's gonna be this, like, really small, scrawny dude, that's really weak physically, but is like, really smart instead. Oh! And he'll have a big forehead!" Eruptor added. "Yeah, something like that."

"That sounds reasonable." Spyro agreed.

"I think." Pop Fizz suddenly joined the conversation, jumping in between Spyro and Eruptor. "He's gonna have _two_ eyes!" He declared.

This made Spyro give Eruptor an awkward sideways glance, a gesture the magma Skylander returned. "Uhh, Pop, I don't think cyclops can have two eyes."

"Hey, I can dream, alright!?" Pop Fizz said undignified, crossing his arms.

"It doesn't matter what he looks like." Stealth Elf interjected. "All that matters is that we stop him." She stated.

"You're right Elfy." Spyro agreed, making his friend give him a small smile. "What really matters-" Spyro paused. "Is what _weapon_ he's gonna use." He added.

At that, Stealth Elf's smile vanished, replaced instead by an exasperated expression, which in turn, made Spyro and his other friends laugh together.

"Welp. We're here." Spyro said as he and his friends came to a stop when they arrived at the Portal Gates.

Standing behind a small monitor screen stood Sprocket, goggles down as she worked on the circuitry. The gold-skinned Skylander finished up working on the new interface for the Portal Gates just as the other Skylanders arrived.

"Heya, guys!" Sprocket called, waving at the Skylanders as they approached. "I heard you have a new mission."

"That's right, Sprocket." Eruptor answered. "We've got some cyclop butt to kick!" He said, slamming his fists together.

"Well, in that case." Sprocket started up, reaching for something behind the Portal Gates monitor. "You'll be needing these!" She said, standing up again with a small copper box.

Sprocket then opened the box to reveal a bunch of small, circular bronze badges, each with a dark blue rim. Spyro and his friends each picked up one of these badges and placed them over their chests. The badges adhered steadily before their blue rim began glowing bright.

"Now, remember guys." Sprocket began. "Please, do _not_ activate more than three Relay Badges at once." She warned, giving the Skylanders a severe stare. "I still haven't figured out a way to stop the signal from overloading."

"Alright, we won't." Spyro said with a nervous chuckle, remembering the last time he and his friends had disobeyed Sprocket's warning.

"Well, alright." Sprocket said, puting the box of badges back from where she had gotten it from. "Whenever you're ready, guys." She added, gesturing at the Portal Gates' main platform.

At that, the Skylanders stepped on the large, circular platform. They stood still for a few moments as Sprocket revved up the Portal Gates and got ready to send them away.

Then, Spyro's field of vision was overtaken with a pure white light. He felt like was lifted upward, floating for a few seconds as he was sent across the Skylands. Afterwards, Spyro felt himself touch down on solid ground once again as the white light quickly dissipated.

Spyro was now standing, with his friends beside him, a few meters away from an elegant white restaurant. The restaurant had a large sign above its main gates. It was a thin golden ring, with the words _Le Circle_ written in cursive. Spyro noticed that the gates of the restaurant were closed and had a small sign hanging behind the glass doors. Written in red cursive were three words. "Sorry, we're closed."

"Alright, we're here!" Eruptor stated, taking a couple of steps forward toward the restaurant. "Where are the bad guys?" He questioned, looking around, searching for enemies.

"Maybe we're here early?" Pop Fizz suggested, joining Eruptor in his search.

"Well, that's a good thing." Stealth Elf interjected. "Now we can set an ambush for them!" She said, drawing her ninja daggers and spinning them in her hands.

"That sounds like a good idea." Spyro said taking a look around himself, trying to find a good spot to set an ambush on.

After a little while, Spyro noticed a large tree, with thick leaves. It was to the left of the restaurant and was elevated enough to give the Skylanders a vantage point. It was also large enough to hide all four Skylanders within its leaves.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Spyro heard Stealth Elf's voice ask behind him.

At that, Spyro turned around and saw Stealth Elf looking at the same tree he had his eye on. Apparently, they _were_ thinking the same thing. "I think I am." Spyro responded with a grin.

* * *

A few minutes had passed, Spyro and his friends had all climbed onto the tall tree's branches, looking down at the scene before them through the thick green leaves.

"How much longer till the bad guys show up?" Pop Fizz complained. The blue gremlin was situated above Spyro, slouching his back against the tree's trunk.

"Are we even sure these guys are coming here?" Eruptor, who was sitting on a branch to Spyro's right, asked impatiently.

"Kaossandra said they would." Stealth Elf told her friend. "We should trust her."

"Oh I trust Kaossandra." Eruptor picked up. "It's _Hugo_ I'm having doubts about. After all, he is the one who said the bad guys were meeting here and he's not the most reliable fella I've met when it comes to this kind of stuff."

"Hey!" Pop Fizz suddenly intervened. "You get off Hugo's back!" He ordered, pointing at Eruptor accusingly.

"Or what!?" Eruptor growled back, about to start a fight.

"Guys!" Spyro suddenly shouted, making everyone abruptly stop their bickering. "Look over there." Spyro said in a whisper, pointing at something with one of his paws, causing his friends' gazes to follow.

Standing near the far corner of _Le Circle_ , stood a single cyclop. The green-skinned creature was making a telescope with its hands and placing it over its large, bloodshot eye, as it was scouting the area. After scanning the area by panning its head to the sides twice, the small green cyclop turned its head around and waved one of its arms over its head, calling someone over.

At that, another cyclop, walked over to the green scout, appearing from around the far corner the first one had emerged from. Shortly after, another pair of cyclops walked over, followed in turn by another pair, then another and another until a good twenty five cyclops were standing on the clearing before _Le Circle_. The gang of one-eyed creatures all seemed to be rather similar. They all had green skin and were equipped with thick, brown fur coats that covered their backs. They all also had thin but long baskets, each filled with simple but jagged spears.

Among these cyclops, one stuck out to Spyro. He was smaller than the rest, and was wearing brown, spiky armor, decorated with brown fur to match his fellow cyclops. However, the armor looked two sizes too big for the small cyclop. This caused the armor to clatter loudly as the he made his way to the forefront of the crowd, where Spyro could see one last important detail about the cyclop. He was wearing an oversized, rusty gold crown on his head, which hung over part of the cyclop's bulging eye, making the runt look truly ridiculous.

" _That_ , is Unulus?" Spyro asked in a whisper, resisting the urge to laugh at the tiny cyclop.

"I told you." Spyro heard Eruptor whisper. "Small dude with a big forehead." He said, snickering through his teeth.

"Shhh!" Stealth Elf suddenly hissed, making her companions instantly go silent. "We need to see what is going to happen!" She whispered. "Remember, if that _is_ Unulus, he is supposed to meet another gang here."

Then, as if on cue, Spyro heard the steadily intensifying sound of marching, steady and militant. From their vantage point, the Skylanders could see that from the opposite direction the first crowd of cyclops had come from, a new group started approaching the meeting point.

The new group looked completely different from the first. These cyclops had icy blue skin and most were a little taller than the green ones. Their armor was dark black and had jagged spikes emerging from their shoulder pads and they were all wielding short iron hatchets on each hand. These cyclops also seemed to be slightly burlier than the green ones. However, there were significantly less blue cyclops than green ones, roughly thirteen of them.

In total there were thirty eight cyclops gathered at the restaurant. Both groups were staring at each other in silence, holding their weapons in their hands as an occasional cough from one of the one-eyed creatures interrupted the silence. Both groups were standing a couple of meters away from each other as they seemed to wait for something to happen.

"That's a lot of cyclops." Spyro heard Pop Fizz whisper.

"What happens now?" Eruptor asked silently. "Do we fight them?"

"Wait." Spyro said, raising one of his paws, silencing his friends. "Look." He whispered, noticing something was happening.

From the group of blue cyclops, one figure, began to make its way to the forefront of its crowd, similarly to how the small runt from the other group had done.

This figure was different to the other cyclops. It was taller that the blue ones by a considerable margin. It's build was slender and its arms were gangly and ended in skeletal hands, covered by sharp metal gauntlets that dragged behind it through the ground as it walked. The figure also had a helmet, a simple black helmet that had three spikes aligned side by side which curved back. These spikes were all made of the same crystalline material as the ones on the figure's shoulderpads.

The tall cyclop walked hunched forward, with his back curved. Despite his poor posture and gangly, skeletal build, beneath the black plates of armor covering the cyclop's body, he seemed to be quite muscular.

As the strange cyclop finished making its way through his gang, he just kept walking, not standing still like the little runt from the other group had done. Instead, the gangly cyclop began to approach the small runt, who was slowly starting to look quite frightened, looking to his sides rapidly and taking a couple of steps back.

The feeling of fear seemed to spread to the green cyclops as well, who also took several steps back from the tall approaching cyclop. However, their legs were much longer than their leader's, causing the runt to be singled out, just as the slender cyclop got dangerously close.

Then, with no warning, the tall cyclop moved one of his gangly arms forward, much faster than Spyro had expected. The tall cyclop grasped the little green cyclop's head with his sharp gauntlet, causing the small one-eyed creature to wail in pain. Then, the tall cyclop lifted the small cyclop off the ground and after tensing up his arm behind his head, the tall cyclop flung the small runt through the air, sending him flying through the air.

The small runt shrieked in terror as he flew through the air. But the scream steadily got fainter and fainter as the small cyclop began dropping down, falling off the island to the endless void beneath.

Spyro and his friends could only watch in horror. Eruptor and Pop Fizz had their mouths hanging open. Stealth Elf was covering her mouth with her hands, a look of horror on her face. Spyro could only swallow hard as cold sweat traveled down his temples.

 _"He killed him."_ Spyro thought to himself. _"One of his own, so… casually."_ He added in shock.

Apparently the smaller cyclops were just as surprised as Spyro and his friends. They were all in complete silence, paralyzed before the gangly cyclop's disturbing aura.

Since he had his back turned toward the Skylanders, Spyro couldn't see the cyclops face as he spoke. "Hear me, my brothers." The cyclop began. His voice was strident and a lot of his words sounded hissed and breathy. "On this day, we are all here, because we've all been cast to the side." He said. "We have been tormented, demonized and belittled by the peoples of the Skylands." The cyclops preached, causing complete silence among his fellow cyclops. Then, the cyclops slowly began to move, shifting his body to the side, about to turn around.

When the cyclop turned his face back toward the Skylanders, Spyro felt the blood drain from his face. _"Enumat?"_ He thought to himself as the cyclop's dark pink eye. But after a few seconds and after shaking his head and taking a more focused look at the tall cyclop, Spyro could spot a few differences.

Just like Enumat, this cyclop had a pasty purple skin tone, that looked unnatural in contrast to the blue and green skin hues on his fellow cyclops. the teeth on his lower lip seemed to be made of sharp, purple crystals, another feature he shared with Enumat. Their eyes were also similar. Both bulging, with ghostly white vertical slits for pupils and a dark pink sclera.

Another detail Spyro noticed was that, just like Enumat, this cyclop had a large, pulsating purple rock seemingly breaching out from his armor's chestplate.

But the similarities ended there. This cyclop's face was leaner and more skeletal than Enumat's. He had five jagged, crystalline teeth, three more than Spyro remembered Enumat had. Also, while Enumat almost always had a murderous, battlelusted grin and wide eye on his face, this cyclop was frowning and his strange eye was half open, as if he woke up a little too early today.

Not to mention that the two cyclops were built completely differently. Enumat was a mountain of muscle. Burly and barrel chested, with thick limbs and strong jaw. This cyclop was almost skeletal. His disproportionate arms, curved back and slender build made him difficult to compare to Enumat.

"And now-" The cyclop picked up his speech, snapping Spyro out of his little analisis. "I, am here to lead you. I am here-" The cyclop paused, raising his gangly arms. "To avenge us."

"Guys." Spyro heard Pop Fizz' voice whisper shakily from behind him. "I don't like that guy."

"You can say that again." Stealth Elf agreed in a whisper. "But we can't forget why we're here." She added, pulling up her brown bandana over her face. "We have to stop this freak."

"She's right." Spyro said, staying his fear at the slender cyclop's disturbing aura. ""We have to stop him." Spyro stated.

"Alright." Eruptor began. "Do we take the big one out first?"

"We need to make sure these little guys don't go join up with anyone else." Spyro explained. "We should try to take down as many of them as we can. We can focus on the leader after that." He said, tensing up, getting ready for the iminent fight.

"Everyone ready?" Spyro asked his friends, looking to his sides to see their faces. The initial fright caused by the slender cyclop had vanished from their features. They all had composed themselves and were ready to fight.

"We're ready." Stealth Elf said, giving Spyro a firm nod. "Let's do this."

At that, Spyro tensed up his hind legs and got ready to jump forth. He had one of the hatchet-wielding cyclops in his sights. Then, with a burst of speed, Spyro flung himself off the tree branch he was hiding on, his horns erupting in small flames as he dipped his head down.

Faster than the rest of the cyclops could react, Spyro headbutted one of the tall, blue cyclops, causing a loud impact and knocking the targeted cyclop to the ground. Afterwards, Spyro used his wings to quickly boost himself off the fallen cyclop's back and into the air, out of reach from the other enemies.

After this, Spyro heard his friends descend from their hiding spot behind him. Stealth Elf teleported quite a distance away, reappearing with a small cloud of green mist among the smaller green cyclops, making them jump back in surprise, futilely trying to avoid the ninja Skylander's quick bust of blows and kicks that knocked back three cyclops before the rest of them could react.

Eruptor and Pop Fizz, were meanwhile firing their projectiles at the tall, blue cyclops. The Skylanders' projectiles crashed against the black armor protecting their targets, allowing the armored cyclops to endure the assault, before composing themselves and raising their iron hatchets over their heads, about to strike down at the Skylanders.

Spyro wasn't about to let that happen. Spyro took a deep breath and called forth his flames, releasing a volley of three firebolts on the three cyclops that were about to attack his friends. The impacts connected with the backs of the targeted cyclops' heads, knocking them to the ground.

"Thanks Spyro!" Eruptor shouted from the ground, waving at his friend before getting ready to resume fighting.

Spyro followed his friend's example, turning around and searching for more one-eyed targets.

" _Enough!"_ A loud voice roared, it's enraged tone booming through the air.

For some reason, Spyro found himself unable to disobey the furious command. He simply hovered in the air, beating his wings to keep himself airborne. Spyro noticed that everyone else had also heeded the command. Everyone, cyclops and Skylanders stayed still, causing a dreadful silence to hang over the air.

"Now." A strident voice began. Spyro could trace back the voice to the tall, gangly cyclop, who was standing right where he had been before the fight. He was looking right at Spyro, his previously half open eye now alight and focused on the purple dragon. "Why don't we all handle this in a more, _professional_ way?" The cyclop proposed, making Spyro quite curious.

"What do you mean by that?" Spyro asked, not taking his eyes off the gangly cyclop.

"Spyrooo?" Pop Fizz' voice suddenly interrupted. "What's going on?" He asked in a nervous tone.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out, Pop." Spyro told his friend. "Now, Stickman." Spyro picked up, redirecting his words to the cyclop below him. "Who are you and what do you want?" Spyro asked demandingly.

At that, the cyclop properly introduced himself. "I am Unulus-"

" _Should had figured that one out."_ Spyro thought to himself, realizing all the red flags this slender cyclop had been waving in front of him since Spyro had first seen him.

"And I, challenge _you_ -" Unulus continued, lifting one of his long arms and pointing at Spyro with his sharp gauntlet. "Spyro the dragon, to a duel." He stated, hissing Spyro's name threateningly.

Spyro was a little surprised by Unulus' sudden request. "A duel?" He asked in a confused tone. "What are you playing at?"

"As you might be able to discern." Unulus began, lowering his arm to its original position. "I'm trying to bring my people together once again. In order to do that, I must show them, that I am worthy." He explained.

"And what does that have to do with me?" Spyro asked. "You didn't seem to have any problems just killing off any competition just now." Spyro spat, remembering how Unulus had killed that other tiny cyclop.

"In order to make sure that my brethren are loyal to me." Unulus picked up, not bothering to explain what he had done to the small cyclop. "I must make them follow me out of respect, not just fear. And what better way to claim respect as the new leader of the One Eyed Legion, than by avenging the death of the previous leader?" Unulus asked out loud, slightly raising his gangly arms to his sides and grinning. "By killing you, I can show everyone here-" He continued, gesturing at both the cyclops and the Skylanders present. "That I mean business."

"Why would he agree to fight you, then?" Spyro heard Stealth Elf demand. "This is clearly a trap you're laying out."

"If I win." Unulus began in his breathy voice, not shifting his sight to Stealth Elf. "My reputation among my kind will rise considerably. Few will question my lead in the face of my vengeful victory against one of the Skylanders that destroyed the One-Eyed Legion. But-" He paused. "Conversely, if I lose, my reputation will be ruined, no one will follow me and then, it will only be a matter of time before the embers of the One-Eyed Legion die out." He hissed.

Spyro thought about what Unulus was proposing. It was a chance to end this new threat before it even began, it almost sounded too good to be true. If Spyro managed to defeat Unulus in this duel, then he could ensure that the last remains of Omen's scourge on the Skylands.

"If I win." Spyro began. "Will you give yourself up and let us take you to Cloudcracker Prison?" He asked steadily.

"Spyro!" Eruptor shouted suddenly. "You can't trust this guy!" He warned.

"You have my word." Unulus stated, his hissing voice speaking over Eruptor, no indication of him lying expressed on the cyclop's body language. "And as a future chieftain of my people and leader of the One-Eyed Legion, I can promise you a fair fight."

At that, Spyro shifted his gaze to his friends. They were all looking at him with worried looks on their faces, surrounded by cyclops that were looking at Spyro expectantly. Then, Spyro returned his gaze to Unulus, the gangly cyclop looked up at him patiently, waiting for the purple dragon's answer.

After thinking it through, Spyro took a deep breath and spoke. "Alright." He began. "I accept your challenge." He said, lowering his flight and touching down on the ground.

"Spyro!" Stealth Elf suddenly exclaimed. "You can't do this! We won't let you!"

"He has already accepted the challenge." Unulus breathed simply, not letting Spyro out of his unblinking sight. "If you interrupt us, my brethren will spread the word that you have violated one of our people's most sacred traditions." He explained. "Then, hatred for you and your Skylander friends will be unrivaled in the history of our kind and it will bring my people together faster than I ever could." He explained, leaving it pretty clear what the situation was.

"Guys." Spyro called. "I got this, don't worry." He said, lowering his head and getting into battle stance.

Spyro noticed that his friends seems to want to speak to him further, but, they were interrupted suddenly by a loud shout from Unulus.

"Monomachia!" Unulus roared, raising his arms over his head, clasping his gauntlets together in the air, creating a vertical gap between his clasped hands and his head.

" _Monomachia_!" Every cyclop, blue and green repeated loudly, imitating Unulus' strange arm motion and taking several steps back form Spyro and Unulus, creating a wide, circular clearing for the two of them to fight.

Spyro was a little taken back by the situation. He had never been in a cyclop duel before.

"Now." Unulus began, lowering his arms and regarding Spyro. "I trust you know the rules?." He asked, pulling something out from behind his back.

The item Unulus had pulled out was a thick book. Its front cover was a plain dark grey, with the book's title written in elegant golden letters. "The Rules of fair Combat."

Just seeing that book again made Spyro frown out of annoyance. "Do all bad guys have a copy of that stupid book?" He asked sarcastically.

"It is a masterpiece." Unulus stated, returning the book back to where he had pulled it out from. "I would expect anyone who deems themselves to be honorable to have a copy."

Spyro was not in the mood to bicker about _the rules_ , so, he tensed up and got ready to fight. "I gotta warn you buddy." Spyro started. "I've beaten up quite a few cyclops in my time. Why don't you just give up so no one gets hurt?" Spyro proposed jokingly.

"I have no intention of giving up." Unulus stated simply. "And to reciprocate your warning." He began, taking a small pause as he raised one of his arms. Then, Unulus drove his sharp gauntlet through the air, burying it deep in the strange glowing rock in the middle of his chest. The rock didn't break however, instead, it glowed brighter against Unulus' black armor.

After that, Unulus began pulling his arm out of the rock in his chest. As he did, the cyclop began extracting a thick, crystalline hilt, that was soon followed by a large, cleaver-like blade that stretched out, creating a large, crystalline falchion, a sword with one edge.

Once Unulus finished drawing his crystalline weapon out of his chest, the falchion the rock on his chest and the horns on his helmet all glowed a bright purple in creepy unison.

"Know that, whether my opponent be a fly, or a lion." Unulus picked up his warning to Spyro, slowly lifting his new sword at the purple dragon. "I will crush them with all my might."

But Spyro refused to be intimidated. He looked at Unulus head on as he spoke. "News flash buddy." He began. "I'm not a fly or a lion." He paused, taking a moment to call for his flames and tense up his legs. "I'm a dragon."

At that, Spyro released a firebolt, aimed directly at Unulus' bulging eyeball. The flaming projectile flew through the air at great speeds, but in swift motion, Unulus used the flat of his crystalline blade to block the projectile, creating a peculiar resonance as the impact connected.

But Spyro didn't stop there, just as his projectile was blocked, he used his wings to boost himself forward toward Unulus. Spyro had his head dipped down, small orange flames erupting from his horns as he aimed to headbutt his slender enemy.

Spyro felt his head slam against the rough texture of Unulus' armour and heard as the cyclop gave out a pained groan. He felt as the cyclop's body bent beneath the strength of Spyro's attack. However, Spyro then felt something take a steady grip of one of his horns. Then, Spyro felt himself be lifted off the ground.

From his awkward perspective, Spyro could see as Unulus tightly grasped his right horn with his free hand. The cyclop then slammed Spyro head first against the ground. The impact was disorienting, but thanks to his scales Spyro was able to keep conscious. However, that only meant Spyro was able to feel as Unulus lifted him off the ground again, only to slam him back into the ground. The cyclop then lifted Spyro one more time, and slammed the purple dragon on the ground again, cracking the paved rock beneath them.

"Spyro!" Stealth Elf cried, concerned for her friend.

Spyro reacted to this call. Through the pain of having his head slammed into the ground repeatedly, Spyro focused enough to move his tail. Using the sharp end of his tail, Spyro whipped one of Unulus' legs, getting the gangly cyclop off his balance and loosening his grip on Spyro enough for the dragon to get loose.

Using his wings, Spyro tried to boost himself away from Unulus, flying into the air. Once there Spyro got ready to release a volley of firebolts at Unulus as the cyclop was about to regain his stance.

But then, Spyro saw as Unulus stretched out his sword-wielding arm and swung at Spyro. The disproportionate length of the cyclops arms combined with the length of his weapon, allowed him to slash at Spyro even as he remained airborne.

The impact made Spyro lose his balance, knocking him out off the air and leaving him with a sharp pain on his side. As Spyro crashed on the ground, he tried composing himself and check where he had been struck. The pain on his side was slowly washing way and there was no wound Spyro could see. So, not wasting any time, Spyro got on his feet and began charging straight at Unulus.

The cyclop then raised his falchion over his head, about to slash downward as Spyro came within his range. But then, just as Unulus' strike began to quickly descend toward Spyro, the purple dragon took a sudden sidestep, moving at great speeds just beside Unulus' falling strike, which connected with the ground instead of Spyro, creating a small shockwave through the ground, but also leaving the cyclop wide open for Spyro to attack.

Not wasting his chance, Spyro fired a flaming projectile at Unulus' face. The attack landed successfully, causing the cyclop to give out a loud groan.

"C'mon Spyro!" Eruptor shouted. "You can do it!" He cheered.

Thankful for his friend cheering him on, but not losing focus, Spyro quickly used his wings to boost himself backward and up in the air, putting a little extra distance between himself and Unulus this time.

As Unulus slowly began getting up from the ground, Spyro could hear as the cyclop started speaking. "You are a better warrior than I thought." Unulus stated as he turned his head toward Spyro. the cyclop was smiling, a thin, creepy smile as he stared at Spyro. "Take comfort in knowing that your death will bring me great honor."

At that, Spyro saw that Unulus falchion started glowing an intense purple light. Then, with an explosively fast motion Unulus swung his falchion in a wide arch in front of himself. At first, this confused Spyro, for he was clearly out of reach from Unulus' sword strike. However, as Unulus' sword swing moved through the air, it created a thin slash of purple light, which fired off from Unulus' sword strike.

This projectile of purple energy moved through the air at great speeds and took Spyro completely by surprise. The purple energy slash crashed against Spyro's chest, creating an explosive blast of energy and knocking the air out off Spyro's lungs.

As Spyro bent over in pain from the unexpected blow, he had no time to react when Unulus fired another splash of energy at him. This impact overwhelmed Spyro, causing him to fall to the ground with a loud thud.

With the ground pressed against his chin and pain riddling his body, Spyro could only lift his gaze up and look as Unulus approached him slowly. The gangly cyclop loomed over Spyro looking down at him before lifting his falchion over his head.

"Goodbye, dragon." Unulus began. "I hope your ancestors smile upon you."

Then, Spyro saw as Unulus' crystalline blade came down.

* * *

"Spyro!" Eruptor shouted in horror as he saw Unulus swing down his falchion at his friend's head.

Eruptor tried to move toward his friend in a desperate attempt to help. But then, Eruptor saw something that made him freeze in his tracks. When Unulus' falchion connected with Spyro's head, a bright flash of purple light, followed by a loud sound like glass shattering overwhelmed his senses.

"Argh!" Eruptor exclaimed as he rubbed his eyes, disoriented by what had just happened.

When, Eruptor opened his eyes, he could notice that, all around him, the several cyclops as well as his fellow Skylanders seemed to be coming out of the same shock he had just recovered from.

But then, Eruptor suddenly remembered something. "Spyro!" He shouted out loud as he turned his head toward where he had last seen his purple friend.

The scene Eruptor was faced with made his jaw drop. Still standing over Spyro, stood Unulus, however, something was off. The cyclop's falchion was snapped in half, leaving Unulus only with its hilt and half of its blade.

"How is this posible?" Unulus asked, paralyzed as he stared at his ruined sword.

"Because." A strained but familiar voice began slowly. "I'm thirty flavours of awesome sauce buddy."

At that, Unulus could only growl, casting his shattered weapon to the side and slamming one of his iron boots over Spyro's head, causing the purple dragon to give out a pained groan.

At that, Eruptor almost lost it. He wanted to show that Punk Unulus what happened when someone messed with his friends. But then, Eruptor felt something take a hold of his arm. He looked behind him to see Stealth Elf, giving him a very serious look.

"We can't entervine yet." She said. "If we do this is all just going to get worse."

Eruptor wanted to argue, but, under Stealth Elf's stern gaze and after he thought about the situation, he managed to keep his cool, restraining himself to growl and glare at Unulus.

"Heed my words, dragon." Unulus began, looking down at Spyro. "Today, even if your scales can allow you to keep your life, I am the victor. If you cross paths with me again, your fate will not be this pleasant."

At that, Unulus lifted his boot off Spyro's head and turned around. Then, Unulus raise his arms over his head and clasped his sharp gauntlets together, doing the same motion he had done when he announced the beginning of the duel.

"Victory!" Unulus roared, inciting the crowd of cyclops to cheer and clap. "Now, Skylanders." Unulus picked up, speaking louder than the crowd of cyclops cheered, making Eruptor and his friends tense up. "I would kill you all where you stand, but, I can't spare my new underlings so shamelessly." He stated. "And besides, as the tradition of my people dictates, I have a celebration to attend to."

At that, Unulus began walking toward the far away corner of _Le Circle_ , the one form which the first gang of cyclops had originally emerged from. The gangly cyclop led his gang of newly enlisted minions away from their meeting point, leaving the Skylanders by themselves after a few moments, the hammering of cyclop footsteps and festive cheering slowly fading into the distance.

Immediately afterwards, Eruptor and his fellow Skylanders all rushed over to Spyro, who remained flat on the floor.

"Spyro!" All three Skylanders shouted, concerned about their friend.

"Urgh, not so loud." Spyro groaned slowly, not moving to get up. "I have a really bad headache."

"You dummy!" Eruptor shouted, suddenly picking Spyro off the ground and crushing him in a tight hug that made the purple dragon give out a strangled yelp of pain. "You had me worried sick! I thought that one-eyed skeleton was gonna kill you!"

"You might not give him a second chance buddy." Spyro said in a strained voice as Eruptor continued adding pressure to his crushing hug.

"Oh, sorry." Eruptor apologized, hastily letting go of Spyro, who stumbled onto his feet, shakily trying to regain his balance.

"Spyro." Stealth Elf suddenly spoke. She had a concerned expression on her face. "Are you sure you're alright?" She asked. "You took quite the beating out there."

"Don't worry Elfy." Spyro said, giving her a steady grin, despite holding his left eye closed and Eruptor noticed it was a darker shade of purple than the rest of Spyro's body. "Impenetrable scales and all. I'm just a little hurt, nothing serious." Spyro stated.

"Well, in that case." Stealth Elf picked up. "We should get going to the Academy. Kaossandra will want a report on this." She said looking around the scene.

"Yeah, you're right." Spyro agreed. The purple dragon suddenly hissed sharply and rubbed the sides of head with his paws. "Man, that is a really mean headache." Spyro stated.

"We should get you to the infirmary, pal." Eruptor suggested. "You look pretty beaten up."

"Yeah, alright. I won't turn down a tag out." Spyro said with a small chuckle. "Let's get out of here."

At that, the Skylanders used their Relay Badges to return to the Academy. Heeding Sprocket's warning, they traveled back in pairs. Spyro and Eruptor fist and Stealth Elf and Pop Fizz second.

As wight light engulfed them and carried the Skylanders back home, a strange feeling hung over them, a feeling of anticipation, as if something big was just about to start.

* * *

" _Ashes to ashes - Dust to dust_

 _Rest now my weary prey_

 _Your blood my iron will rust_

 _For your petty life you better pray_

 _Because your death is only just."_

* * *

 _Authors notes_

 _Hello once again everyone! It's been a while! This is the start of a new story and direct sequel to_ New Horizon! _Plenty of adventures await our heros, just you wait for the next chapter!_

 _-_ I don't own Skylanders Academy

-No, mature themes here, just good ol' fashoned fistfights


	2. Chapter 2

**Skylanders Academy: Song of the Hunt**

by andresponceb2002

 **Chapter 2) Wake up Call**

The sky above Cynder was dark brown. The wind howled faintly as the violet dragoness walked slowly toward the exit out of the Cadaverous Crypts. The savory taste of tacos in Cynder's mouth, made her incapable of holding back a bright smile. The violet dragoness had just had Taco Night with her father, Malefor and was now heading toward Skylander Academy.

" _That went a lot better than I thought."_ Cynder admitted to herself, slightly awestruck by how reasonable Malefor had during their meeting.

The Undead dragon King had barely even bothered her about Skylander business. Instead, the two of them had simply talked about other things, like how there was a new Vampire's Secret opening in the Underworld soon, or what they both thought about the newest movies, all while they enjoyed some tasty tacos.

Cynder hadn't remembered having a genuinely good time with her father for a long time. She cherished the opportunity of having her father back and not have him be a violent megalomaniac.

However, there was one incident that prevented the visit from being perfect.

"Cynder, do your old man a favor." Malefor's words sounded through Cynder's mind. "Stay away from the purple runt."

Apparently, Malefor was still not quite behind hi whole "sworn enemies" deal with Spyro. Considering the strange feelings Cynder had been developing for Spyro and all they had gone through together, this left Cynder with slightly mixed feelings. She was frustrated at the fact her father couldn't move on from some grudge.

Then, a memory crossed Cynder's mind. It was a memory of something that had happened almost a week ago. As the memory returned to her, Cynder's cheeks blushed slightly, for she remembered her kiss with Spyro. Cynder could feel her heart beat a little faster from thinking about how she felt back then, how warm Spyro's touch was, how softly he had kissed her, how happy she was when he did.

"Sorry dad." Cynder began, despite her father being nowhere close. "I just don't think I can do that."

"Hey Cynder!" Someone shouted nearby.

"Ahhhhh!" Cynder screamed and gave a small, frightened jump.

After this, Cynder quickly turned around to see where the voice had come from. Once the violet dragoness looked behind her, she spotted the source of the person who had suddenly called her name.

"Jet-Vac?" Cynder called, staring at her feathery friend in confusion. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Hey, lass." Jet-Vac began, giving Cynder a small wave. "How was the visit?" He asked innocently, glancing to his sides.

At that, Cynder narrowed her eyes, giving Jet-Vac a suspicious look. "Did you eavesdrop on me?"

After this, Jet-Vac started sweating heavily. "Noooo." He said slowly, not meeting Cynder's eyes. "I was, uhh, _overseeing,_ yes! _Eavesdrop,_ is such a nasty word, I was looking after you!" The senior Skylander sayed, chuckling nervously after he finished speaking.

Cynder did not appreciate being followed without permission, especially on Taco Night, something she shared exclusively with her father. But, acknowledging her friend's good intentions, she let it slide this time. "The visit was good, JV." Cynder stated, lifting her accusing gaze from Jet-Vac. "There was no need for you to worry."

"Well, I'm relieved." Jet-Vac stated, smiling at Cynder. "No offence but, I'm still not quite, _at ease_ with Malefor yet."

"You and me both JV." Cynder said, finally returning a small smile to the senior Skylander. "But, he's definitely trying, we have to at least give him that much." She sighed.

"I suppose that is true." Jet-Vac agreed, crossing his arms over his chest. "And I suppose he'll come around eventually."

"Yeah." Cynder replied, looking down at her paws. "I hope he will." She said in a quiet voice, more to herself than to Jet-Vac.

"Well, we should probably get going to the Academy." Jet-Vac suggested. "We have a job to do after all."

"Yeah, you're right." Cynder agreed. "We should get going." She said, lifting her head and resumed walking toward the exit out of the Cadaverous Crypts.

However, she came to a sudden stop when Jet-Vac called her name.

"Cynder wait!" Jet-Vac called, making Cynder stop and look at her friend. "Why take the long way around?" He asked as he pulled out something from one of his back pockets.

Cynder noticed that Jet-Vac was holding two small, coppery items in his hand. The design and blue rim gave away what they were.

"You brought Relay Badges?" Cynder asked, slightly confused.

"I thought." Jet-Vac began, looking nervous once again. "That if things, _heated up_ , we might need a quick getaway." Jet-Vac explained. "But, they didn't! So we can just use them to avoid an unnecessarily long walk." He said.

"Alright JV." Cynder began stretching out one of her paws to pick one of the badges. "Let's get going." She said as she placed the badge over her chest and its thin blue rim began glowing.

With that, both Skylanders tapped their badges twice in quick succession, causing them both to be engulfed by white light. Then, both of them were carried across the Skylands, returning to the Academy.

* * *

Spyro felt as he suddenly touched down on solid ground. His vision, previously surrounded by pure white light, quickly returned to normal, revealing where the purple dragon had arrived at.

Spyro was standing over the Portal Gates' main platform, with his friends standing beside him.

"We need to go see Kaossandra." Stealth Elf stated, her voice coming from Spyro's left. "She'll want to hear what happened."

Spyro deflated slightly after hearing that. He hadn't failed a mission like that in a really long time. He felt like had really screwed up, especially since it was entirely his fault Unulus was now closer to his reuniting the One-Eyed Legion. After the gangly cyclop defeated Spyro one-on-one and gave him a nasty bruise on his left eye, he was now probably trying to recruit even more cyclops to his growing gang.

"Alright, let's go then." Spyro said, putting one of his paws over his still slightly swollen left eye.

But, just as Spyro and his friends stepped off the Portal Gates and were heading toward the Academy common room, they heard as the Portal Gates activated once again, creating a bright flash of white light as someone returned to the Academy.

Spyro turned around to see that his friends had done the same. As the light dispersed from the Portal Gates' platform, the returning people were revealed. Standing side by side were a familiar violet dragoness and feathery senior Skylander.

"Cynder, Jet-Vac, you're back!" Spyro exclaimed. "How did Taco Night go?" He asked, relieved to see that at least Cynder and Jet-Vac were alright.

"It went great." Cynder said with a wide smile as she began walking toward her friends with Jet-Vac doing the same. "I think my dad is starting to…"

Cynder took an abrupt pause after she got closer to the Skylanders. She focused on Spyro, looking at him with concern. "Spyro, what happened to your eye?" She asked, a worried look on her face.

"Long story." Eruptor interjected. "We actually have to talk about it with Kaossandra, which is why we're heading to the common room. Wanna tag along?" Eruptor invited, gesturing at the Academy main gates.

"Sure, why not." Jet-Vac began. "What could happen?"

* * *

"You did _what!?_ " Kaossandra roared, slamming her fists on her desk and standing up from her chair, glaring at Spyro.

Under the sorceress' intimidating presence, Spyro could only shrink and shake, swallowing hard before answering in a meek voice. "I lost a duel to Unulus?"

Kaossandra's glare somehow intensified, becoming even scarier as her eyes burned into Spyro. The fact that everyone else was at a fair distance away, singling Spyro out, made the sorceress' gaze all the more frightening.

"Spyro, do you have _any_ idea what this means?" Kaossandra demanded. "Unulus just proved to his followers that he is not messing around. His victory over not just a Skylander, but also over one of the ones responsible for the destruction of the One-Eyed Legion will elevate him to near-legend status among his kind." Kaossandra explained. "Now, he's probably out there gathering even more cyclop gangs and increasing his army's strength." She finished, searing the severity of Spyro's mistakes into his mind. "Why would you do something so stupid, as challenging a _cyclop chieftain_ to a duel?" Kaossandra asked.

Spyro hung his head low, letting his wings droop to his sides. "I…" Spyro started, regret making his voice lower. "I just thought I could stop him, before he got to hurt anyone." He said. "I though, that if I could get him there and then, no one else would have to get caught up in this mess."

Spyro didn't lift his head after he finished speaking, his heart was too heavy with guilt to look at Kaossandra directly.

The purple dragon expected more scolding from Kaossandra, but the sorceress had stayed silent for a few moments, making Spyro curious. Then, the purple dragon heard as Kaossandra let out a long, tiered sigh before speaking again in a calmer, slightly softer voice.

"Spyro, I understand that what you wanted was to keep everyone safe." Kaossandra began. "I know that you meant well, not just for your friends, but for the Skylands as a whole. But you need to understand. You. Are not. Alone." Kaossandra entonated, making Spyro listen in closer. "If you had allowed your friends to help instead of charging into that duel by yourself, you could have stopped Unulus and his lackeys by now."

Spyro ran Kaossandra's words though his mind. As he did, the purple dragon rehearsed what the whole showdown with Unulus would have gone like if he'd only let his friends to help him. It would indeed have gone quite differently.

"Your friends are Skylanders too, Spyro." Kaossandra picked up. "And you are a team leader for crying out loud! But your actions have consequences Spyro and as the new headmistress of Skylander Academy, I need to make sure you understand that."

"I understand, Kaossandra." Spyro said, still looking down. "I'll take whatever punishment you give me." He said solemnly, ashamed of what his recklessness had caused.

"Hmmmm." Kaossandra paused, thinking thoroughly and creating a short silence as she came up with a punishment for Spyro. "I think I have an idea of what we could do with you." She said with a little edge of malice, like the one she had when Spyro remembered her as an enemy.

That made Spyro worry slightly, as a small drop of sweat traveled down the side of his head.

* * *

"Aw, man! You're not our team captain anymore!?" Pop Fizz shouted in disbelief as he and Spyro walked towards the Academy infirmary.

"Yeah, I know that Pop, I was there to hear about it." Spyro grumbled, a little cranky from being scolded and punished.

Apparently, Kaossandra's solution to Spyro's "Leadership problems" was to separate him from his original team and make him train new Skylander recruits.

" _By having the responsibility of looking over others, you'll learn to work as a team and make a much needed improvement to your leadership skills."_ Kaossandra's words resonated in Spyro's mind. She was not wrong, Spyro might have been a good hero, but he was not a particularly good leader.

The issue has not made itself clear in a long time. Spyro and his friends usually winged through plans given to them by Master Eon, trusting in one another to get things right on the fly. But, Master Eon was no longer around, or at least not as he used to be. Spyro and the others couldn't just wait to be told what to do anymore and as team captain, Spyro had to take initiative.

Sure, being separated from his friends was something Spyro was undeniably salty about, but, not only did he agree to take any punishment Kaossandra gave him, he was aware of why she had assigned something so specific.

"Anyway." Spyro picked up as he and Pop Fizz got near to the Academy infirmary.

It was a lengthy building decorated similarly to the rest of the Academy with the exception of a simple white flag that had a red cross in the middle, which hung over the main gates to the building.

"Do you think you could cook something up for my eye?" Spyro asked Pop Fizz. "It's starting to sting a little." He said, slowly tracing the tips of his claws over his bruised eye.

"Yeah, I can probably make something for a little bruise." Pop Fizz stated as the blue gremlin approached the nursery doors and opened them slowly, allowing entrance for both Skylanders. "It might take a little while though, so just sit around while I make you something upstairs."

"Alright, take your time." Spyro said calmly, giving his friend a small nod.

At that, Pop Fizz rushed inside of the infirmary, leaving the door behind him open for Spyro to follow inside.

After taking a small breath, Spyro trotted through the infirmary doors before coming to a sudden stop once he was inside the building.

The inside of the infirmary a long hallway that led toward a stairway upstairs, where Spyro guessed Pop Fizz had gone to. There were quite a few windows, made of blue stained glass, as well a several nursing care beds along the right-hand side of the building, while medicinal equipment was placed on the left-hand side.

However, there were a couple of things that stood out to Spyro. For starters, there were six dragons, laying on the nursing care beds. They were all silent and still, deep in sleep.

The second thing that called Spyro's attention, was the glowing blue figure that hovered stationary in the middle of the infirmary.

With one hand stroking his ethereal beard, Master Eon was looking down at the slumbering dragons, a somber expression on his face. He had seemingly not been disturbed by either Pop Fizz or Spyro's appearances in the infirmary.

"Hello Spyro." Eon said suddenly, not lifting his gaze from the six dragons. "How are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm alright." Spyro answered, slowly walking over to the elder portal master's side. "How have you been? Is being a ghost boring yet?" He asked jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.

Spyro smiled after hearing Eon give out a light chuckle. "It's not as boring as you'd expect young dragon." Eon stated. "Let's just say that the ability to fly and go through walls without the strain of using magic makes my days a lot easier."

"Heh, I can imagine." Spyro replied, a small smile building on his face.

However, Spyro slowly shifted his gaze from Master Eon, to the sleeping dragons in front of him. Seeing them all, still asleep, still out of his reach to help even as they stood right in front of him, made Spyro's smile fade quickly and his heart grow heavy.

"Master Eon?" Spyro began, keeping his eyes on the dragons. "Is there anything we can do?" He asked.

"I'm afraid not, Spyro." Eon replied in a sad tone. "The spell Omen cast on these dragons had quite some time to lay deep roots. Removing it so suddenly was bound to leave some serious side effects." Eon explained. "However, I am certain that they will wake up one day and recover from this dreadful experience." He said, making Spyro feel a little better.

Ever since Spyro found out that these dragons were under the same spell Strykore had cast on him all that time ago, he had felt a sort of kinship with them. He felt a strange sense of responsibility toward them. Since they had all gone through the same thing, yet Spyro recovered from it first, he felt like it was his duty to help them get through as well.

At that, Spyro took a couple of steps forward, getting a little closer to one of the slumbering dragons. The dragon in front of Spyro was very strange looking. He had a sharp, bird-like beak and talons. Instead of scales he had hard, red and blue feathers which all irradiated a faint but consistent heat. To this dragon's right, laid an earthy brown dragon, almost twice the size of Spyro and to his left, slept a small green dragon, the smallest of the bunch.

Spyro looked at the red and blue dragon in front of him. He took a deep breath before speaking in a low voice. "Hey pal." Spyro began, trying to force a smile, even if the dragon in front of him was not flinching. "I uh, just wanted you to know, when you wake up, all of you-" He added, taking a quick glance at the rest of the dragons. "I'll… I'll try to help." Spyro continued. "You can count on me." He stated, finally managing to put on a smile for the unconscious dragons in front of him.

"Uhh, Spyro." Eon's voice sounded from behind Spyro, making the purple dragon turn around and face the portal master. "Not to sound ill intended, but I don't really think they can hear you."

"Yeah, I know Master Eon." Spyro said with a small sigh. "I just needed to get something off my chest." He said before slowly starting to turn around to get one last look at the slumbering dragons.

When Spyro turned around however, his heart came to a sudden stop.

The strange red and blue dragon in front of Spyro, was looking straight at him, unblinking and unmoving. His irises were a bright yellow and his scleras were a sunny orange. His open eyes were surrounded by thin rings of blue feathers.

Spyro stood perfectly still, not moving a single muscle as he stared back at the red dragon before him, who stood equally still. Spyro noticed Master Eon had also remained silent and still after the red dragon had awoken. So, after taking a small breath, Spyro tried to talk, speaking in a quiet, calm voice.

"Hey." Spyro said slowly, not taking his eyes off the red dragon, who stayed tense and unmoving. "Are you alright? Do you know-"

"Hey Spyro!" A new voice sounded suddenly, making Spyro's eyes suddenly go round when he saw the red dragon quickly turn his head toward Spyro's left.

Spyro followed the dragon's gaze to see who had interrupted them. When he turned his head, Spyro felt his stomach drop.

"Your potion is ready." Pop Fizz picked up as he slowly made his way down the stairway from the second floor, oblivious to the woken dragon beside Spyro. "So whenever-"

Pop Fizz' voice then trailed off as the blue Skylander came to an abrupt stop at the bottom of the stairway, where he stood, holding a bubbling, potion beaker in one hand and some rusty pincers in the other.

For some reason, Spyro now had a really bad feeling hanging over him. "Buddy?" Spyro entonated slowly, slowly turning his head back toward the red dragon in front of him. "You need to stay ca-"

Before Spyro could finish his sentence, he felt a powerful force tackle him, knocking him off his feet and making him trip onto the floor.

"Spyro!" Pop Fizz' and Master Eon shouted in unison.

Spyro struggled to get a hang of what had happened. However, he felt immobilized, his arms pinned down against the floor by a heavy figure above him. When Spyro lifted his gaze, he saw the red dragon looming over him, his fiery eyes now light up with anger as he pinned Spyro to the ground.

Then, Spyro saw as the red dragon swayed his head back and took a deep breath. When he did this, the red feathers covering his body began emitting a huge amount of heat. This made Spyro realize what was about to happen.

So, thinking fast, Spyro moved and tensed up his hind legs before releasing a powerful kick at the red dragon's underbelly. This caused the red dragon to give out a choked gasp, followed by a small stream of bright yellow sparks as he was kicked off Spyro, falling to his side and allowing the purple dragon to get back on his feet.

"Wait!" Spyro called, taking a defensive stance when he saw the red dragon hurriedly get back on his feet, the anger in his eyes intensifying, glancing rapidly between Spyro, Master Eon and Pop Fizz. "We don't want to hurt you! We just need you to-"

" _Lies_!" The red dragon roared suddenly, cutting Spyro off. "I know what you want! You are never going to capture me again!" He declared in a fiery, furious voice.

"Dude, you need to chill out!" Pop Fizz exclaimed.

"He is right." Eon interjected, trying to get closer to the tense red dragon. "We aren't trying to capt-"

Master Eon was suddenly cut off when the red dragon used his sharp bird-like talons to swipe Master Eon away. The red dragon's attack caused Master Eon's ethereal form to disperse creating a small pop of blue mist where the glowing portal master once stood.

Then, the red dragon turned around toward Pop Fizz and released a stream of bright yellow flames. This made the blue gremlin jump back and yelp in fright, trying to avoid the blazing attack.

"Hey!" Spyro shouted, calling the dragon's attention and making him turn to face Spyro.

Spyro wasn't one to allow his friends to be attacked without repercussion. He charged at the red dragon with his head dipped down, taking his target by surprise. When Spyro felt himself collide with the red dragon, he took his chance to release a fireball point blank at the red dragon in an attempt to make him simmer down.

When the flaming projectile erupted from Spyro's mouth and collided with the red dragon, he gave out a pained grunt before falling to the floor, where Spyro saw another opportunity open up.

With great speed, Spyro jumped up on the red dragon's chest and pinned the red dragon down, using his arms and hind legs to hold all of the red dragon's limbs still, making sure the squirming dragong beneath him wouldn't get loose so easily.

"Look pal!" Spyro started up, trying to get the squirming dragon's attention. "You need to calm down! We need to talk!" He shouted, getting frustrated at the red dragon's lack of cooperation.

"I have nothing to say to you!" The red dragon suddenly snapped at Spyro. Then, Spyro felt as intense heat started to come off from the red dragon's body, which started to glow a bright orange color. "Let. Me. _Go_!" The red dragon then roared.

Then, Spyro felt a huge blast of heat and orange light knocked him off the red dragon. Afterwards, Spyro felt his back slam against the ground as a sharp ringing resonated in his ears.

"Spyro!" The purple dragon heard a familiar voice call, diluted by the ringing in his ears.

"Pop Fizz?" Spyro asked, slowly getting back on his feet, his senses slowly returning to him. "What happened?" He asked, shaking his head wildly afterwards, trying to regain focus.

"That guy just exploded!" Pop Fizz exclaimed. "He disappeared and trashed the infirmary!"

At that, Spyro snapped back into focus. He then panned his head to his sides in order to get a full view if the infirmary.

As Pop Fizz stated, the first floor of the infirmary was in very rough shape. Where Spyro had pinned down the strange dragon, now was a meter wide, black, smoldering crater, not to mention all the destroyed stools and medical equipment near the area the Skylanders had had their fight.

"Well, it could have been worse." Spyro argued, trying to look on the bright side. "At least none of the other dragons woke up."

At that, Spyro felt cold chills run down his back. He suddenly felt like he had jinxed himself.

And then, as if to confirm his dreadful feeling, Spyro saw as some of the other dragons began to shift and shuffle. The large brown dragon, and the little green dragon, who were both side by side with the red dragon began to slowly get on their feet, disoriented looks on their drowsy faces.

However, it didn't take long for the two dragons' faces to suddenly light up and focus.

The two of them then started to take fanatical glances through the room. The brown one's eyes slowly went round as he continued scanning the room, the green one however, started breathing heavily and shrinking back toward the wall of the infirmary, almost as if the little green dragon was having a panic attack.

"Hey!" Spyro called, trying to get the two dragon's attention.

Spyro succeeded, both dragons quickly reacted and turned their faces toward him. The two dragons kept their startled expressions intact and froze for a second after Spyro called them. However, the two of them quickly reacted, out of fright, instinct or something else similar.

The little green dragon closed his eyes and strained his face. Then, with a strange skittering sound, the dragon's scaled turned transparent, making him to disappear right before Spyro's eyes.

"Ohhh, that's right!" Pop Fizz began suddenly. "That guy can turn invisible!"

However, Spyro's focus was drawn from his friend to the brown dragon. The large dragon had rolled up into a large spiky ball. Then, the brown dragon began spinning in place, like a pinwheel and Spyro noticed that the brown dragon was starting to pick up speed.

Then, Spyro saw as the brown dragon, still rolled up into a spinning ball, shoot straight at Spyro, rolling toward him at alarming speeds. The purple Skylander had only a second to react. Spyro used his wings to dash to his right, sliding out of the way of the incoming attack.

Afterwards, Spyro saw as the brown dragon collided against the infirmary gates, creating a huge hole in them along with a thunderous crashing sound. The brown dragon had slammed though the blue gates like a living wrecking ball, allowing himself a quick exit from the infirmary.

However, after the brown dragon crashed through the gates, they had been left quite flimsy, this allowed Spyro to notice a strange movement in one of the two gates. It was a strange, sudden and quick jarring movement that made the gate swing open. The movement was accompanied by a distinctive sound, the same strange skittering sound the green dragon had made when he had become invisible a few moments ago.

Spyro realised what that meant. There were now three, very confused and quite dangerous dragons loose on Academy grounds.

"Pop Fizz!" Spyro called, turning around quickly toward his friend. "Stay here and keep and eye on the other three!" Spyro commander.

"What are you going to do?" Pop Fizz asked worriedly.

"I need to stop them." Spyro stated simply. "I can't let them get hurt, or hurt my friends." He explained, a strange feeling of duty building up in his mind as he turned around and started making his way toward the infirmary's shattered gates.

"I have to help them."

* * *

Eruptor walked beside Jet-Vac, Stealth Elf and Cynder. The four Skylanders were heading out from the Academy common room and toward the infirmary to see how their friends were doing.

"Well, I can't really get through the fact we're not going to be in the same team as Spyro anymore." Eruptor began. "Ijust always figured we were gonna be a team till the end, ya know?"

"I'm surprised too." Jet-Vac admitted. "Though I suppose we should have expected something like this from Kaossandra. The woman has quite a frim hand."

"I don't like the idea of not being in the same team as Spyro anymore than you guys." Stealth Elf joined in. "But, Kaossandra was right. He really needs to get better at leading a team."

"I suppose it's true." Cynder interjected. "It's just never been too much of an issue until now. But I guess he does have to improve."

"Yeah, I just hope that after he does, Kaossandra puts him back on our team again." Eruptor admitted. "It just wouldn't be the same without him."

"You can say that again." The other three Skylanders all said in unison.

This caused all four Skylanders to let out a short burst of laughter. The memory of Spyro and his arrogant shenanigans was stored too deep in their minds to even think of separation from him. Eruptor fro one, though it felt good to have his friends share the sentiment.

However, something interrupted the friendly moment. It was the sound of battle, blasts of magic and metal weapons being swung, soon accompanied by cries of pain.

"That doesn't sound good." Eruptor stated. "I have a bad feeling about this." He added, noticing the battle was seemingly taking place dangerously close to the infirmary.

"We need to move." Stealth Elf stated, pulling up her bandana and drawing her daggers. "It sounds like a really intense fight."

"Then let's get going!" Eruptor shouted, before starting to rush toward the source of the fighting. Despite not turning around, Eruptor could hear his friends close behind him, all just as eager as him to see what was going on.

The Skylanders ran for a almost a minute, rushing to the infirmary in haste. After a while, the group arrived at an isle that was a fair distance away from both the Academy and the infirmary. The isle was quite wide and had a couple of large rocks scattered across its surface. However, what called the Skylander's attention was the fact that there was a raging battle happening.

Hex and Roller Brawl were fighting against two dragons and by the looks of their fellow Skylanders, who were covered in bruises and were breathing heavily, Eruptor guessed the fight wasn't going all too well.

But then, Eruptor noticed something about the dragons that his friends were fighting. Their distinct appearances made Eruptor realize that they were the dragons they had rescued from Maraino Castle almost a week ago. They were about to fight the Knights if Solitude again.

"Well, it looks like they are up and about." Jet-Vac began behind Eruptor, a small, nervous edge in his voice.

"We need to help Hex and Roller Brawl!" Cynder shouted. "They are in trouble!" She said, getting into battle pose, ready to jump in and fight at a moment's notice.

"You said it!" Eruptor followed up, also getting into battle pose. "Let's do this!" Afterwards, Eruptor began to rush toward the two dragons arms ready to fire at his enemies.

After getting within range, Eruptor released a volley of firebolts at the two dragons. When his projectiles collided against their targets, Eruptor saw the two dragons flinch and back away from hex and Roller Brawl, who both looked back toward Eruptor in surprise.

"Guys!" Hex called. "What are you doing here?"

"We could ask you the same thing." Eruptor stated as he came to a stop near the undead Skylander duo. "Why are you fighting these guys?" Eruptor questioned, gesturing at the two dragons, which were now recovering from Eruptor's attack.

"They came from the infirmary." Roller Brawl began. "They looked like they were in a suspiciously big hurry. When we stop them tried talking with them, they attacked us." She explained.

"I guess they need a little time to cool down." Eruptor grumbled, taking an angry glance at the two dragons, who were now taking a couple of steps backward in face of the new wave of Skylanders.

"Guys, you did great." Cynder interjected, calling her undead friends' attention. "But we can take it from here." She said, walking side by side with Stealth Elf and Jet-Vac toward the two dragons.

"She's right." Stealth Elf added. "You are hurt. We've dealt with these guys before, you can leave it to us."

Before the conversation could continue, Eruptor saw that the big brown dragon, that was almost twice Eruptor's size, began to roll up into a big, spiky ball. Then, like a pinwheel, he started spinning in place. After a few seconds, the brown dragon began rolling at great speeds directly at Eruptor's friends.

"Watch out!" Eruptor shouted, trying to warn his friends.

Luckily, all three Skylanders managed to avoid the incoming attack. Cynder took flight, rising above the brown dragon, Jet-Vac did a barrel roll to his left, effectively getting out of the way and Stealth Elf teleported away to a safe distance.

After this, Eruptor saw an opening to fire a short burst of projectiles at the spinning dragon. Once the fiery projectiles impacted against the brown dragon, he let out a rough grunt of pain and stopped spinning, returning to his original shape. Then, he started backing up, retreating several steps away from the Skylanders but straying away from the red dragon as well.

"Seriously girls." Eruptor began, not taking his eyes off the brown dragon. "You need to leave."

The two Skylanders behind Eruptor created a small, silent pause before answering. However, Hex spoke up after a few seconds. "Alright, just be carefull. They are really though."

"Tell me about it." Eruptor grumbled under his breath. He was well aware that these dragons were dangerous. He had his head blown off by one of them after all.

After giving Eruptor their warning, Hex and Roller Brawl began to walk away from the scene, limping from their injuries as Eruptor and the Skylanders regrouped, ready to fight for real.

"Alright." Eruptor began, speaking loudly to call the two dragon's attention. "You two need to tell us what you're up to, cuz I gotta say, attacking our friends doesn't make you give off good vibes."

The two dragons glanced at each other, holding their gazes for a moment, before looking back at Eruptor.

After the short pause, Eruptor saw that the red dragon began glowing a fiery orange color. Then, with a flash of fire and the sound of a small explosion, the red dragon disappeared, leaving a scorched cater over where he used to stand.

"Woah!" Eruptor exclaimed. "Where'd he go?" He asked confused, looking around frantically.

The answer to Eruptor's question came when a wave of heat, accompanied by a blazing impact crashed against his back, knocking him to the grass-covered floor. The pain from the impact continued to sting through Eruptor's back, making him clench his teeth and hiss as he tried turning over to see what had happened..

And to make matters worse, just as Eruptor turned around, he saw as a flash of red tackled him, pinning him to the ground by the arms with sharp talons. As Eruptor regained his senses and focused on what was happening, he looked up to see the face of the red dragon looming over him.

His bird-like features were marred with anger and his yellow and orange eyes were fixated on Eruptor. But what made the magma skylander really worry was the fact that the red dragon was starting to take a deep breath, just as Spyro did when he was about to release a powerful burst of fire.

"Oh come on, not this again!" Eruptor complained in annoyance as he saw the red dragon release a stream of burning yellow flames right at his face.

* * *

"Eruptor!" Stealth Elf cried in horror as she witnessed her friend's head be seared clean off by the red dragon's intense stream of flames.

"Lass, look out!" Jet-Vac's voice warned desperately, from behind Stealth Elf.

This made the she-elf turn around to see what her friend had warned her about. The first thing she saw, was a large golden, spiked ball being swung straight at her head. Silently thanking her ninja training, Stealth Elf made herself fall backwards, placing her hands behind her head before hitting the ground. Once she felt the tips of her fingers connect with the soil beneath her, she used her legs to do a quick kick jump to get back on her feet in swift, elegant motion.

After she did this, Stealth Elf saw that the spiked ball that she had just dodged was connected to a long brown tail, which was connected to the large brown dragon she and her friends were fighting.

"Alright." Stealth Elf began, staring down at the stocky dragon in front of her. "No more games."

At that, Stealth Elf closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _"Be the ninja."_ She told herself, focusing and relaxing, preparing to activate her power. _"Be the ninja!"_ Stealth Elf repeated, more intensely this time as she opened her eyes.

Once she did, Stealth Elf could see the world just as it was, except for the fact everything was moving in slow motion, everything except for her, which allowed her to take a breath and analyze the situation.

Stealth Elf first looked right in front of her, right at the brown dragon in front of her. The large creature was floating in mid air and had it's large crocodile-like jaw wide open. He was apparently planing on lounging at Stealth Elf before she deactivated her power.

After sliding casually to the side, and finger flicking the dragon's left eye in a, Stealth Elf began to scan the area in search of her friends.

As Stealth Elf looked around, she saw Cynder had taken flight and, accompanied by Jet-Vac, was heading toward the red dragon, who was standing on his hind legs and had his wings stretched out, apparently also about to take flight.

Stealth Elf took a second to appreciate how strange the two dragons she was fighting looked like. The red one was roughly Spyro's size and had bright red feathers instead of scales or a tail, however, the feathers on his wings were bright yellow and the ones on his chest and around his eyes were a deep blue. He also had yellow bird-like talons and a sharp beak instead of a snout. He also had three yellow horns aligned along the back of his head.

The brown one was huge in size compared to the red one. His limbs were thick and his scales were rough. Dull golden spikes that seemed to be made of the ore itself dotten his earthy skin and similarly colored horns adored the sides of his reptilian head and traveled down his back and tail until they met with a large spiky ball made of the same color.

"Alright." Stealth Elf sighed after absorbing everything that was going on. "Let's make this quick."

With that, Stealth Elf rushed toward the brown dragon. Taking advantage of the fact he had tried to lunge at her and that he was still in midair, Stealth Elf slid through the the ground and under the brown dragon until she was staring right at his underbelly. Unce there, Stealth Elf tended up both her legs before releasing a powerful kick that connected with what felt like the dragon's ribcage. Not wasting any time, Stealth Elf got an her feet and slid out from the brown dragon's underside.

She was now standing to the dragon's left. So, using her daggers, Stealth Elf made a couple of quick slashes at the dragon's hind leg and foreleg.

After this, Stealth Elf closed her eyes again, took a deep breath and then, when she opened up her eyes once again, the world moved at it normal pace, which meant Stealth Elf cold see the brown dragon in front of her fall the ground in front of her with a booming thud, taken out by her attack.

"That's what you get." Stealth Elf said simply at her fallen enemy. Then, Stealth Elf turned around, eager to see how her friends were doing.

To her relief, it seemed like her fellow Skylanders were handling their target very well. Cynder was flying all around the red dragon, using her shadow dash to narrowly, yet gracefully avoid the vicious slashes he was trying to land on her with his talons. Also, whenever, Cynder shadow dashed out of the way of one of the red dragon's attacks, Jet-Vac was there to fire a blast of pressurized wind right at his face. This made the red dragon quite irritated, and mode him try to attack Jet-Vac. However, whenever he tried, he was stopped by a powerful electric blast, courtesy from Cynder.

Stealth Elf was admittedly quite surprised by how well the two Skylanders coordinated to fight their enemy. She just stood and watched with slightly round eyes as her friends handled their enemy.

"That's some nice teamwork guys." Stealth Elf said in a low voice, almost as if not to distract her friends from their task.

But then, in her moment of admiration, Stealth Elf heard a strange sound come from behind her. A strained groan, as if someone was trying to get up from a chair they had sat on for a long while.

When Stealth Elf turned around to see what the strange sound had been, she could only gasp as she saw an earthy brown mountain rush toward her, set to collide with her head on.

* * *

"Stealth Elf watch out!" Jet-Vac yelled, shifting his focus from the red dragon he was fighting to trying to help his friend.

However, it was too late. Jet-Vac could only watch as the brown dragon headbutted Stealth Efl with such force, he sent her sprawling a good couple of feet before she landed on her back against one of the large rocks on the isle, eyes closed and knocked out.

"Jet-Vac, look out!" The senior Skylander heard Cynder's voice warn.

At that, Jet-Vac turned around to where Cynder's voice had come from. When he did, he saw as Cynder fired a stream of blue lightning, which collided against a stream of bright yellow flames that were emerging from the red dragon's beak.

From this, Jet-Vac assumed that Cynder's warning was intended to alarm Jet-Vac about the _other_ dragon they were fighting. Turning around hurriedly, Jet-Vac saw as the stocky brown dragon was moving hastily toward him, intent of headbutting him aswell, closing the distance between him and Jet-Vac at alarming speeds.

So, reacting quickly, Jet-Vac lifted his vac-gun in front of him and selected a special configuration on his weapon's dial. Then, after pulling the trigger, Jet-Vac released a mighty gale's worth of wind at the charging brown dragon.

The strong winds coming from Jet-Vac's weapon made the brown dragon come to a sudden stop, his headbutt charge interrupted by the mighty winds. At this, the large dragon tried to forge ahead, grunting loudly from the effort. However, Jet-Vac had tended to upgrading this feature on his weapon after he had an encounter with another very burly, one-eyed enemy a long time ago.

So, not only was the air current strong enough to stop the dragon's charge, it actually was starting to push him backwards. As the dragon tried to hold his ground, thick, deep trails of dirt were traced through the ground beneath him as Jet-Vac's gale pushed him back.

Jet-Vac planned on keeping his attack up as Cynder kept the red dragon behind him occupied but, out of nowhere, a familiar voice shouted loudly, drawing Jet-Vac's attention.

"Everyone, _Stop_!" The voice roared, anger making it loud and commanding, to the point where, Jet-Vac not only stopped his attack, but noticed that both Cynder and the two dragons they were fighting had done the same.

As Jet-Vac turned his head toward the source of the commanding voice, he saw a winged purple figure land on the isle the big fight had taken place on.

Spyro was standing over a large rock, with a very displeased expression on his face. He took a short look at the scene in front of him before speaking.

"Everyone needs to stop fighting!" Spyro began, looking at both his friends and the two dragons. "No one here is your enemy!"

"Don't lie to me!" The red dragon shouted back at Spyro, making Jet-Vac almost instinctively raise his vac-gun at him. "I know what you want! I know you just want to use me!"

Jet-Vac was confused by the strange declaration the red dragon had just made. _"This chap must have lost his marbles."_ He thought to himself, not able to make any sense of the red dragon's words.

"I don't even know what you are talking about!" Spyro responded to the red dragon. "And even if I did, don't you think we would have, _used you_ while you were knocked out?" He asked, making the red dragon flinch, apparently considering the logic behind Spyro's words. "Well we didn't, because we are not the bad guys, we don't want to hurt you." Spyro explained, his voice slowly becoming calmer.

"Then who are you?" A new voice sounded. It was rough and low, like gravel shifting.

Jet-Vac turned to his left to see the brown dragon, taking a couple of slow steps toward Spyro, but still keeping at a distance.

Spyro looked at the brown dragon, giving him an unflinching stare and puffing out his chest slightly before speaking. "We are Skylanders." Spyro stated simply, not looking away from the earthy brown dragon.

After Spyro introduced himself and his friends, Jet-Vac noticed that both dragons suddenly went silent. After taking quick glances at both of them, he saw that they had their eyes round and mouths slightly agape, as if a sudden realisation had just hit them, very hard.

After a few moments, Jet-vac heard the red dragon's voice speak, starting shakily. "N-No, you're l-lying…" He stammered.

"No, he's not." Cynder spoke suddenly. "We really are Skylanders and these-" Cynder took a brief pause to gesture at their surroundings. "Are Skylander Academy grounds."

"For real!?" A new, squeaky voice shouted suddenly, sounding dangerously close to Jet-Vac.

After this, Jet-Vac let out a terrified scream and plopped an egg, which rolled a few inches away from where he was standing. The senior Skylander felt like he could have jumped out of his skin.

So, slowly he turned around in search of whoever the squeaky voice belonged to.

When he did, Jet-Vac found nothing. He tired taking a harder look, placing his extended palm over his eyes and leaning forward, but he saw nothing, no one the strange voice could have come from.

"Uhhh, down here." The squeaky voice suddenly sounded again, giving instructions to Jet-Vac.

And so, when Jet-Vac heeded the voice's command and looked down, he was faced with the little dragon he guessed the voice belonged to.

The little dragon was smaller than Spyro, and skinnier too, although just slightly. His head was adorned with many thin, yellow horns and his scales were all a grassy green. Except for the ones near his paws, which were deep cherry red, just like his eyes. The small green dragon's tail, which was short and bushy, wagged slightly behind him as the dragon smiled up at Jet-Vac.

However, despite how innocent, if not cute, the little dragon looked, Jet-Vac felt a little uneasy around him, for he had not heard or noticed the slightest indication that the green dragon was around, or even so close to Jet-Vac.

"So? Is it true?" The little dragon began. "Is this really Skylanders Academy? You all really are Skylanders?" He asked all his questions in quick succession, his voice filled with joyful disbelief.

"Uhhh…" Jet-Vac was all could get out He was not entirely sure of what to think of the new dragon.

However, the senior Skylander was cut off from answering the green dragon's question, when the brown dragon began speaking once again.

"So." The brown dragon started up, his face still expressing surprise. "You are all heroes?" He asked. "And back there-" He turned his head toward Spyro as he gestured toward the direction of the infirmary with his a nod of his head. "You were… you were looking after us... right?"

"Yes." Spyro answered simply. "You were all knocked out. We were keeping you in the infirmary while you recovered, until today." Spyro explained, his voice suddenly becoming slower and more quiet.

"How long?" The red dragon asked suddenly.

Jet-Vac turned his head toward the red dragon, who was looking at his talons, his head hanging low. "How long were we out?" The red dragon asked, almost pleadingly. Jet-Vac could notice he was starting to shake lightly.

After this, Jet-Vac noticed that both the brown and green dragons had also started to darken up. The brown dragon lowered his gaze just as the red one had done, while the little green dragon in front of Jet-Vac deflated from his previous state of curiosity.

"Guys." Spyro began, taking a deep breath before continuing. "We need to have a talk. And you are not going to like it."

* * *

Spyro was sitting down in the Academy common room. There with him, sitting down in a row in front of him, were the six dragons that once rested in the Academy infirmary.

The first three dragons, the ones Spyro's friends had fought against had come willingly after Spyro had cooled them down and offered them an explanation from Master Eon. Although they almost started fighting once again, after Eruptor had suddenly regenerated from his injuries and started shouting _"Regeneration powers, baby!"_ at the top of his lungs and tired attacking the dragons again. Thankfully however, Spyro was able to calm him down before he hurt the three dragons.

As for the other three dragons, the ones that had remained asleep and under Pop Fizz' care, according to the blue gremlin, they woke up shortly after Spyro left. Pop Fizz said he had to tell them an elongated story about aerodynamic engineering to entrance them into calming down and prevent them from getting violent like the first three. One of them in particular, a stout, coppery green dragon. with strange blue metallic attachments on his face mings and tail, admitted to have found the story quite interesting.

And so, after a little convincing, the six dragons agreed to follow Spyro into the Academy common room to get an explanation from Kaossandra and Eon.

The six of them had their backs turned to Spyro, looking up expectantly at the common room balcony, where Master Eon and Kaossandra were looking down at them, concerned expressions on their faces.

"I am sure." Kaossandra began, a somber tone in her voice. "That you all have a lot of questions. But, it might be best if you answer some of ours first." She stated. "First things first. What are your names?" She asked, pausing patiently and waiting for the dragon's to answer.

The first to speak was the red dragon. "My name is Sunburn." He introduced himself, doing a small bow with his head. "I'm sorry for any trouble I may have caused." He apologised.

"I'm Camo!" The little green dragon introduced himself cheerfully, raising one of his paws over his head as if to call attention. "Nice to meet you!"

"Zap's my name." A new voice stated.

Spyro turned his head toward the blue dragon. The slim aquatic dragon had take a step forward, announcing himself.

"My name is Whirlwind." A distinctly female voice stated afterwards, coming from the cyan dragoness.

"And I am Drobot." The last dragon, the coppery green one introduced himself last, in a voice Spyro thought sounded just a tiny bit robotic.

"Well, I am Kaossandra." The Sorceress introduced herself to the six dragons. "The current Headmistress of Skylander Academy."

"And I am Master Eon." The old portal master followed Kaossandra's example. "The, _previous_ Headmaster of this institution."

"Woah." Camo whispered to himself. " _Two_ headmasters."

"Now that we all know who we all are." Kaossandra picked up. "And we all know that no one here wants to hurt anyone, I believe we can now answer your questions." She stated.

"Can you tell us what happened to us?" Whirlwind asked. "I… I can only remember very little of what we were doing after…" Her voice suddenly trailed off, making her come to a pause. "After we were captured."

At that, the six dragons raised their heads, looking expectantly at the two headmasters, waiting for an answer.

Spyro was a little grateful he wasn't the one explaining. He couldn't imagine what it would feel to tell someone what Master Eon and Kaossandra were about to say. Spyro then lowered his head, looking at his paws to advert the six dragon's faces.

"I'm afraid the answer to that question will be most difficult to hear." Master Eon stated in a grave tone. "Are you all certain you want to know?"

After this, there was a brief pause, a short silence. It loomed dreadfully over the room before being interrupted by Sunburn, who spoke in a low voice.

"I have to." He said. "I have to know what I did, what I'm responsible for." He added, shame riddled in his voice. "Please… did I… did I kill, anyone?"

Spyro felt a stab of cold in his heart. He wasn't being hurt, but listening to this was making him feel awful. But, out of duty and will, he stayed and listened.

"We don't know for certain." Master Eon stated. "We only knew of you all after you were forcibly turned into servants of an extraordinarily dangerous and singularly evil entity." He explained.

"His name was Omen." Spyro said out loud, still looking down at his paws. "He was the one who did this to you."

Spyro did not lift his gaze as he spoke, but, he could almost feel the eyes of those dragon's looking at him, pleading to him for more answers, answers he wasn't sure he could give.

"That is true." Kaossandra continued, drawing the six dragon's attention. "Omen had been using you all as servants to hunt down some of our Skylanders. You were called, The Knights of Solitude" She explained. "And, one of your targets… is here present."

At that, Spyro heard a series of stunned gasps come from the six dragons followed by the feeling of their gazes falling on him again, this time heavier with guilt and regret. It only made Spyro feel even worse.

"For more than a week now." Eon picked up, trying to call the six dragon's attention from Spyro, to little avail. "We have had you all in our care, for you were all deep in sleep ever since Spyro and his fellow Skylanders defeated Omen and rescued you all from his lair in the Outlands."

"Hold on!" Zap's voice interrupted suddenly. "I mean, It's great you guys defeated this Omen psycho or whatever, but did you just say we were out for a _week_?"

"You were under our care for a few days over a week, yes." Kaossandra began explaining. "However, since your first apparition as the Knights of Solitude, we had been fighting you and Omen for about a month." She continued. "And since you all were corrupted by Omen from the first time we met, we can say most of you have been in his clutches for even longer than that."

After Kaossandra finished speaking, a cold, dreadful silence hung over the common room. A long, painful pause as the dragons tried to assimilate what they were hearing.

"This isn't possible." Drobot's voice began. "Th-This isn't happening!"

"I need to… I need to sit down." Camo's voice sound between short rapid breaths, sign of him starting to hyperventilate.

"I'm a disgrace." Sunburn's voice hissed. "I'm a disgrace." He repeated, beating himself down in shame.

"No… no,no,no." Zap's voice whispered slowly getting quieter until all that could be made out were mumbles.

"I'm sorry." Whirlwind's voice sounded, apologising in a low, brittle voice, not to anyone in particular.

All the while Bash had remained silent. Not a single sound had come from him, but something told Spyro that it was simply because he couldn't think of anything to say in a situation like this.

Spyro couldn't take it anymore. His was aching from all the pain these dragons were going through. A strange sense of responsibility, of fraternity made Spyro speak, almost by instinct rather than choice.

"It wasn't your fault!" Spyro cried, finally lifting his head to look at the six dragons in front of him.

The six of them turned to face Spyro. He noticed that they all looked awful. A good bunch of them seemed to have tears trailing down their cheeks and shocked expressions on their faces.

"You didn't mean to hurt anyone." Spyro picked up, shifting his eyes through all six dragons. "You were forced by someone, someone much stronger than you, to become this, _monster,_ this version of yourself you never thought you could be and then they made you watch as that monster used you body to do horrible things you couldn't stop." Spyro spoke, saying every word from experience.

"How do you know that?" Whirlwind asked Spyro, in a curious, slightly frightened tone as she looked at him with wide eyes, something the rest of the dragons stayed in silence, giving Spyro similarly shocked looks.

"Because." Spyro began, taking a small breath. "I went through the same thing." He stated simply, causing the dragons to give him wide eyed looks. "It was before I met all of you. This dark wizard called Strykore, used a similar spell on me than the one Omen used on you."

"He is right." Kaossandra spoke up, calling the six dragon's attention. "You are not at fault for Omen's crimes. You were all pulled into this against you will. And, if it's any comfort, we are willing to allow you to stay in Academy grounds if you are not ready to return to the Skylands yet."

At this, the six dragons fell silent, thinking though what Kaossandra had just said.

However, one of them spoke up faster than the rest. "No." Bash said simply. "I can't stay here."

"Neither can I." Sunburn stated. "I have somewhere I need to be."

"My parent's, they must be worried sick." Zap admitted. "I kind of got lost, way before being captured by this Omen freak."

"I can't stay either." Camo stated. "I have, uhhh… reasons." He said suspiciously as he glanced to his sides rapidly.

"My home." Whirlwind began. "I… I need to know if it's alright. So, I can't stay either."

There was a short pause after the dragons explained their reasons to leave. However, Master Eon soon spoke up.

"I see." He said simply. "We will accept whatever choice you make. If you must leave, we will not stop you. Just be carefull, for while Omen might be defeated, his shadow still looms over the Skylands on the form of the One-Eyed Legion."

"Eon is right." Kaossandra interjected. "If any of you see a group of suspicious cyclops, do not fight them and do not let them see you. Get away from them and let us know immediately."

"Alright." Zap began. "Thanks for the warning, I'll be sure to keep an eye out." he promised awkwardly.

After hearing this, Spyro couldn't help but feel disappointed. He though that may be if he could talk to them, he could help them some more, for something told him, they were all still struggling with what had happened to them.

But, before Spyro could speak, he was cut off by Sunburn. "Thank you for your hospitality." He said, giving the headmaster's a low bow. "I'll see myself out."

At that, Sunburn turned around and started heading toward the Academy main gates. When he crossed close to Spyro, he gave him an empathetic look and stopped for a second.

Neither of them said a word, and before long, Sunburn continued walking, heading out to the Academy courtyard.

Afterwards, The other dragons followed suit, leaving the purple Skylander and the elder portal masters by themselves.

However, after five of the dragons had left, Spyro noticed that the last one, the coppery green one with the strange blue metal parts Spyro heard was called Drobot, had stayed behind, and was looking directly at Spyro. The strange, round, crystalline goggles that were where his eyes should have been, were perfectly focused on the purple dragon.

"Uhhh, are you alright pal?" Spyro asked awkwardly. "Don't you have to leave too?"

"Oh!" Drobot exclaimed, suddenly shaking his head, as he had just realized he was staring. "I'm very sorry, I was analyzing."

"Analyzing?" Spyro asked, confused and a little unnerved by the implications of the term.

"Yes, I was analyzing you." Drobot explained. "I've never seen a dragon like you before."

"Same here buddy." Spyro responded, a small smile tugging at his lips from having a chance to speak to one of these dragons. "But, what are you doing here?"

"Oh yes." Drobot began. "I haven't answered your question. _Ahem._ I'm not entirely sure of how to say this." He admitted, scratching the back of his head nervously. "So, I'll just say is like it is." After this, Drobot took a deep breath, puffed out his chest and spoke. "I want to become a Skylander."

" _What!_ " Spyro, Eon and Kaossandra shouted in awed unison, unintentionally making Drobot shrink from sudden fright.

"I want to become a Skylander?" Drobot repeated in a meek voice.

"You do?" Spyro asked, walking up to Drobot and smiling widely. "That's great! I could train you!"

"Really!?" Drobot asked, smiling just as wide as Spyro. "Are you sure?"

"Well, it's really up to Kaossandra." Spyro stated. "So, headmistress. Can he join?" Spyro asked, turning his head toward Kaossandra, a motion he noticed Drobot imitated.

Kaossandra looked down at the two dragons, glancing between Spyro and Drobot, a very serious expression on her face as she watched both of them in silence.

"Do you truly wish to become a Skylander?" Kaossandra asked Drobot, focusing her gaze on him.

"I really do." Drobot responded.

"And are you aware of what that means?" Kaossandra asked, in a more pressing tone. "You realize you will have the responsibility of protecting the Skylands and its inhabitants from evil's many faces? That there will always be a chance of you or someone you care about getting hurt?"

At this, Drobot took a small pause, shrinking slightly from Kassandras words. But, after swallowing hard, he spoke in a steady voice. "I understand the risks being a Skylander imply. And I am willing to face them head on." He said, not doubting his words once.

After Drobot's response, Kaossandra raised an eyebrow, apparently convinced by the coppery green dragon. So, Kaossandra then turned her gaze over to Spyro.

"And you." Kaossandra began. "What makes you think you can train him?" She asked.

"I have experience when in comes to training." Spyro replied. "I trained Cynder, and helped Cy." He stated, recalling memories of him instructing his friends. "And also." Spyro added. "Didn't you say I need to train new recruits to improve my leadership skills, Headmistress?"

"You did tell him that." Eon whispered to Kaossandra, leaning toward the sorceress and smiling like a child

This prompted Kaossandra to give Eon an irritated look and scoff before turning back to Spyro and Drobot. "If you two swear to commit to your new duties as as Skylander-" She pointed at Drobot. "And you as a leader-" She then pointed at Spyro. "Then, you can get my approval."

After Kaossandra finished speaking, Spyro turned his head to his side. Once he did, he saw Drobo had done the same. After taking a long look at the dragon beside him, Spyro began to feel something deep inside of him start to shift. He felt as a strong sense of responsibility awaken within him.

And so, Spyro turned his head back to Kaossandra. He gave her a firm stare before speaking. "I swear."

Then, apparently inspired by Spyro, Dobot spoke as well. "I swear, too."

After this, Kaossandra raised her eyebrow again and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at the two dragons in silence. Then a small, thin smile appeared on her face.

"Well then." Kaossandra began. "You should get to training, Skylanders."

* * *

In the Outlands, a figure walked slowly, wandering through the ash-covered land.

The figure was wearing a large hooded coat, turned grey from the ash of the Outlands. It continued walking, endlessly through barren isles, seemingly without any direction, leaving behind a trail of footprints over the ash.

But, the figure had been following something. A scent. Old, faint and diluted, but it was enough. The figure knew where to go.

The odyssey ahead of the figure would be long and harsh. The bottomless hunger in its stomach, the desertic thirst in its mouth and the cold that flayed its skin would have killed anyone else. But they did not kill it.

Instead, whenever the sigure felt down, it just sang. It sang a familiar song, a song it had learned to love.

* * *

 _Author's notes_

 _Well, here's the second chapter. Sorry for the late delivery. Keep on the look out for more chapters!_

 _-I don't own Skylanders Academy_

 _-A new Skylander! And a new oportunity to teach?_

 _-What will happen with the Skylanders without Spyro? And what will become of the other dragons?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Skylanders Academy: Song of the Hunt**

by andresponceb2002

 **Chapter 3) Spring Fever**

Spyro was walking down to the one of the many isles. The purple dragon was hauling a large pile of red and white bullseye targets on his back. The whole stack of target practice items was towering enough to cast a looming shadow over Spyro. They were quite heavy, but it wasn't anything Spyro couldn't handle. Besides, he needed as many of these as he could get. He had some training to oversee.

"So." Spyro began, turning his head back to the dragon following him. "What made you want to become a Skylander, Drobot?" He asked his brand new trainee. "You wake up from an over-a-month long coma and the first thing you wanna do is become hero?"

"Actually." Drobot began, hurrying his pace slightly to walk beside Spyro rather than behind him. "I've wanted to become a Skylander for a long time. A good while before I got captured and turned evil." He stated. "I was actually on my way to the Academy to get enrolled the same day I got captured." He added, his lightly synthesised voice suddenly becoming low, as if Drobot had accidentally recalled a bad memory.

Spyro gave his new friend a worried look. After thinking a little on the situation, he found it best to change subjects. "But, why did you want to come here?" Spyro asked again. "What drove you to wanting to become a Skylander?"

"Hmmm, that's a good question." Drobot responded, looking up to the white clouds above the two dragons. "I suppose I've always had a knack for helping others out. Not as a hero, mind you. But, when I was young, I used to be really good with Tech." Drobot recalled. "I was always helping someone out with their Tech problems. You know, fixing someone's broken toaster, replacing a cracked skyPhone screen, reminding people what their new Wifi passwords are." The coppery green dragon listed. "It always felt great helping other people out, having that feeling of knowing you did something nice for someone else. But I alway felt like i could have done more, you know what I mean?" Drobot asked, going into a small pause.

"However, one day." Drobot picked up, spiking Spyro's interest. "I was wandering around this weird scrapyard, looking for some some spare parts to fix someone's Holoprojector when I came across this really old, really powerful Tech." He continued. "I used it to build myself this mech suit-" He said, flexing his blue metallic wings and raising his head in pride. "So I could become powerful enough to be a Skylander, so I could help people for real!"

Spyro looked at Drobot in silence as the two of them kept walking. The purple dragons replayed all Drobot had said through his mind before he spoke. "You'll make a great Skylander." He said steadily, with a slowly growing smile.

This made Drobot's metallic jaw fall slightly agape as he gave Spyro an awestruck look. "Y-You really think so?" He asked merily. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Spyro responded with a firm nod. "As far as I'm concerned you were a hero before you came here." He stated, making Drobot smile broadly.

"But-" Spyro added quickly, coming to a stop once he reached a particular isle, cueing Drobot to do the same. "Now we have to whip you into shape." He said, standing on his hind legs and dumping the pile of bullseye targets on his back onto the floor.

"I'm gonna have to see what you're made of, buddy." Spyro stated giving Drobot a mischievous look.

At this, Drobot picked up one of the targets Spyro had dumped and looked at it for a few seconds. Then, he lifted his gaze to look at Spyro. "Let's do this." He said, with a bold smile and firm nod.

* * *

Drobot's training started off quite smoothly. Spyro managed to work out Drobot's skillset rather quickly.

The coppery green dragon had some real firepower. The lazers he could fire from his goggles were powerful enough to hurt Spyro through his scales and could blast through rock rather easily. Drobot could also fire a swarm of homing gears at multiple targets, an ability Spyro noted was quite useful for crowd control. Using the targets Spyro had brought with them, Drobot was able to show off his impressive mechanical powers. The coppery green dragon managed to destroy all the targets with relative ease, only missing some tricky shots and far away targets.

However, Drobot did have his weaknesses. Once Spyro brought him to the Academy obstacle course, he got a little bit worried. Drobot was a mess when in came to coursing through obstacles. The poor dragon got smacked across the face by pretty much every obstacle in the course… several times.

After a couple of tries, Drobot flopped on the floor, belly up and breathing heavily, out of breath. "I'm gonna die." He panted, his synthesised voice sounding slightly glitchy, probably from all the impacts he got to his head.

"Not on my watch, buddy." Spyro said with a low chuckle. "Well, at least we figured out your strengths and weaknesses. That's a steady start." He added as he stretched out one of his paws for his friend to take a hold of.

"I suppose." Drobot grunted as he took Spyro's paw, lifting himself up and onto his feet. "But we clearly have a long way to go."

"Yeah, for sure." Spyro agreed with a small shrug. "But don't you worry buddy." He continued, bumping Drobot with his left wing in a friendly gesture. "You're not bad, at all. You just have a couple of rough edges we need to smooth out." He said, giving Drobot a firm smile.

"Thank you, Spyro." Drobot said, smiling back. "So, in that case, what do you suppose we should do now? I'm clearly no good at the obstacle course." Drobot stated.

"Hmmmm." Spyro began, thinking about what to do next, scratching his chin and taking a long look at Drobot. "If we're gonna take you out to the field to fight real bad guys, we need to fix the chinks on your armor." He stated. "We need to improve your reflexes and your speed."

"How do we do that?" Drobot asked, tilting his head to a side and giving Spyro a curious look.

After thinking for a while, Spyro cracked a sudden smile, confusing Drobot even more. "The old fashioned way." Spyro said simply.

* * *

Spyro was standing at the edge of a big isle. It was relatively far away from the Academy,barely within its grounds.

As Spyro looked out to the horizon, with his paws tightly gripping the very edge of the isle, just before the endless drop. As his heartbeat quickened and the wind blew gently against his face, he felt an almost primordial urge to let go and fly. To fly through the blue sky to his heart's content.

But, Spyro held himself in place. He kept his hold on the ground, for he had something important to do, a duty to fulfil.

"Alright, Drobot." Spyro started up, tearing his gaze from the horizon and looking over to Drobot. "I'm gonna try a little something to see if we can straighten you out."

"Can't we wait for a little while?" Drobot asked in a whiny voice. "We've been training all day. Besides, I think we skipped lunch because, I'm famished." He complained as a low growl came from his stomach, indicating he was indeed quite hungry.

After this, Spyro's stomach also gave out a low growl, letting both dragons know he was hungry too. However, Spyro had an idea he wanted to test out.

"Here's the thing." Spyro began, catching Drobot's attention. "I have a little exercise in mind to get you to improve your speed. We're gonna do a little race." He stated with a grin

"A race?" Drobot questioned. "Excuse me for asking but, how will a race help my training? You are clearly the better flyer out of both of us."

"It'll help." Spyro started. "Because there's a catch." He said, grinning mischievously at Drobot, who suddenly looked more focused on what Spyro was saying than on his own rumbling stomach. "Whoever loses the race, loses his lunch."

"What!?" Drobot exclaimed. "How is that going to help?"

"It will make sure you give it your all." Spyro explained. "One thing I've learned with teaching is that, first, I need to convince you that you really can do whatever it is you're struggling with." He continued. "After you put your back into beating me in this race, you'll see that the obstacle course is really just a walk in the park."

Drobot looked hesitant, he fidgeted with his paws and gave worried glances to the horizon behind Spyro. Spyro understood Drobot's scepticism, but he knew this was a tried and true method. He remembered when he taught Cy the Imaginator how to fly by literally tossing him off a cliff and when he showed Cynder all she could do, if she just believed in herself enough to do it.

Either way, Spyro was just kidding about the whole, _losing lunch_ part of the deal. He knew that an empty stomach wasn't going to help anyone. However, for the exercise's sake, Spyro kept that fact to himself.

So, Spyro was relieved to see when Drobot took a deep breath and exhaled sharply, composing himself before speaking up. "If you really think this will help." Drobot began, a small edge of doubt in his voice. "Then, I'll try my best."

"That's the spirit!" Spyro cheered. "Now, we're gonna go all the way to the Forest of Life. It's quite a distance away, so we'll be able to work on your stamina at the same time!" Spyro declared cheerfully causing Drobot on the other hand, to give out a small, nervous chuckle under his breath. "It's a straight flight from here, getting lost or side tracked is pretty much impossible and I mean, It's a huge forest, it's pretty hard to miss." Spyro stated.

"Well, whenever you're ready." Drobot said simply as he lined up beside Spyro at the edge of the isle.

After taking one last look to contemplate the beautiful sky ahead of him, Spyro took a deep breath before speaking. "Ready." He paused, lowering his head and body closer to the ground, a motion Drobot mirrored. "Get set." He continued, pausing once again, tension building up. "Go!" Spyro shouted loudly.

At that, the tension built up in Spyro's muscles was released in an instant, propelling the purple dragon forward through the air. Once Spyro was off the isle, he used his wings to give himself yet another mighty boost, causing him to shoot through the sky.

And just like that, Spyro found himself soaring through the air, letting out a delighted howl.

However, something nagged at Spyro's mind, something that prevented him from sinking into the moment. _"Drobot."_ He thought, the image of his trainee suddenly popping into his mind.

At that, Spyro came to a sudden stop, hovering in midair before turning around to call for his friend. "Drobot!?" He called taking a look around.

But then, Spyro saw a coppery green figure dash right past him in a blurr. "Don't drag behind!" Drobot's voice sounded.

After that, Spyro turned around again to see Drobot, flying ahead if him, using his metallic blue wings to hold himself in the air. "I don't think you'll be in good shape to teach on an empty stomach!" Drobot teased.

This surprised Spyro, he didn't take Drobot for a competitive person. "Then you won't be in good shape to learn." Spyro began. "Cuz it's you, who's going to end up with an empty stomach!"

Then, in a powerful motion, Spyro used his wings to shoot himself forward again, dashing past Drobot at great speeds.

After this, Spyro heard Drobot restart his flight as well, following Spyro closely from behind as both dragons continued their path to the Forest fo Life. The two of them traveled a rather linear path as they approached the Forest.

Knowing himself to be more experienced in this area, Spyro constantly held himself back throughout the race, restraining himself from flying at full speed to give Drobot a better chance. However, even with this advantage, Drobot continued to trail behind Spyro throughout the first stretches of the race-

Then, on top of this, a multitude of impromptu obstacles appeared in the two dragons' path. Clusters of small floating rocks, medium sized isles with large trees and walls of clouds all floated between the two dragons and their destination.

Spyro, being the more experienced of the dragonic duo, managed to maneuver through these obstacles, diving and soaring over the isles, reacting to the small floating rocks and taking sharp quick turns to avoid crashing into them.

Drobot on the other hand, had a little bit more trouble getting around the obstacles. He came to a stop whenever a large, tree-covered isle got in his way in order to rethink his trajectory. And as he tired to navigate through the small rock clusters, he bumped into and grazed quite a few of them, slowing his flight even further.

"Come one Drobot!" Spyro shouted. "You can do it!" He cheered as the coppery green dragon neared yet another cluster of small floating rocks. "You're overthinking it! You are a dragon man, you've got thin in your veins, you just have to think on your feet!"

After hearing this, Drobot came to a sudden stop before the cluster of obstacles in front of him. He looked at Spyro, then at the rocks in his path. Then after a short pause, Drobot shook his head wildly before speaking. "Alright, I can do this!" He shouted.

At that, Spyro saw as Drobot flew straight into the cluster of obstacles. He expected a few more colitions from the coppery green dragon, but, as Drobot made his way through the small obstacles, Spyro noticed he flew with much greater grace than before. Drobot still grazed a couple of rocks with the tips of his wings and just as he was about to cross the cluster, he rammed into yet another floating rock.

However, there had been a clear-cut improvement this time, one Spyro was quick to point out. "Nice job, man!" He shouted as Drobot began to recover from his impact. "You're getting the hang of it! Slow but steady-"

"-Win's the race!" Drobot responded with a confident smile.

With that, Drobot soared into the air once again, quickly picking up speed, nearly catching up to Spyro. However, the purple dragon reacted quickly. He too, picked up speed reigniting the thrill of the race as both dragons got closer and closer ot their goal.

After a while, the view of the Forest of Life took up the horizon before the two dragons, indicating the quickly approaching end of their race. The thick green foliage of the many towering trees created a fitting finish line.

"The first one to land wins!" Spyro declared as he continued to soar through the air, closely followed by Drobot.

"Alright!" Drobot exclaimed. "Let's finish this!" He dared. At this, Drobot's flight was suddenly bolstered, inexplicably increasing the coppery green dragon's speed.

Spyro wasn't about to give Drobot an easy win, so he too decided to increase his speed, increasing the power behind his wingbeats.

This made it so that both dragons were practically side-by-side just a couple of meters before being able to reach the Forest of Life. Spyro saw Drobot right beside him, pushing himself through the air with his wings, giving it his all. And then, actually surprising Spyro, Drobot managed to get a lead. A small, almost unnoticeable lead on Spyro, that grew more evident with every meter the two dragons flew through. While this happened, the dark, rich soil of the Forest of Life continued to inch steadily closer to the two dragons.

After just a few seconds, Spyro saw Drobot's forelegs connect with the soil on the Forest, indicating he had indeed landed first. Or well, considering the fact that after Drobot contacted his forelegs with the ground, he tripped and ended up falling head first, chest down, on the ground, Spyro decided that _crash_ landing was a more accurate description for what Drobot had done.

After representing the urge to laugh at his new friend, Spyro flew down and landed gently beside his fallen friend, who had remained face-down and motionless since his crash.

"Well, you won buddy!" Spyro tried cheering.

" _Hooray_!" Drobot's voice sounded, muffled by the dark dirt surrounding it.

"Alright, let's get you up." Spyro said, taking a hold of Drobot's limp paws with his own before tugging.

After putting some effort into it, demonstrated by a steady groan and a strained face, Spyro managed to pull Drobot's upper body out of the ground.

Drobot's face was covered in grassy stains, the previously shiny blue helmet's lenses were now decorated with dark brown clots of dirt. "That was… _thrilling_." Drobot said in an unenergetic voice.

"You could say that again." Spyro responded happily, flicking a little bit of dirt off Drobot's head. "But you did it buddy, you won fair and square, just like I told you you could." Spyro said, giving Drobot a small, friendly jab to a shoulder, which caused the dragon to let out a small chuckle. "Ohhhh well, I guess I'm gonna starve." Spyro said in an overly-dramatic way, shrugging in fake helplessness.

At that, Drobot gave Spyro an awkward smile. "It's alright, you can eat if you want."

"Ah good, I was afraid of you catching me eating when you weren't looking." Spyro joked.

Both dragons then shared an amused laugh before laying down against one of the huge trees nearby, resting the fatigue from their race away. However, after a short while, Spyro and Drobot heard the sounds of their bellies rumble, demanding food.

"Man, maybe skipping lunch wasn't such a good idea." Spyro admitted, putting a paw over his hungry stomach.

"I would have to agree with you on that." Drobot said as another angry rumble came from his stomach.

"Well, unless you want a rematch-" Spyro began, looking over to the horizon, in the direction of the Academy. "We might have to find some food nearby."

"I mean, this is a forest." Drobot followed up. "There should be something edible around here. Maybe some fruit." He suggested as he stood up and took a slow look around the area.

Spyro also stood up and looked around, heading toward a thick bush nearby. Once he was close enough, Spyro used his paws to move some of the leaves on the bush out of the way to see if there was something worth eating.

When Spyro did this, he was faced with a small clearing on which only short grass grew, creating a flat area, surrounded by towering trees and thick bushes. However, there was something that called Spyro's attention. At the center of the strange clearing, was a shining red apple.

Spyro usually prefered a more meaty meal, but, pushed by the hunger roiling in his stomach, the purple dragon began to walk toward the shiny red fruit, walking through the clearing and picking the apple up with one paw.

"Drobot!?" Spyro called as he inspected the apple in his paw, turning it around to check if there was anything unusual about it.

"Yeah?" Drobot's voice sounded behind Spyro, followed by slowly approaching steps. "Did you find anything?" Drobot asked.

"Just this." Spyro responded, Showing Drobot the red apple he had found.

"Where did you find it?" Drobot asked, giving the fruit a curious look. "There aren't any apple trees nearby."

"Some animal must have dragged it here and dropped it." Spyro guessed, still holding the apple in his paw. "I mean, it's food isn't it?"

"I don't know Spyro." Drobot said givin the fruit a nasty look. "I've heard a lot of nasty stories about people who just eat random stuff they find in forests."

"Don't worry buddy." Spyro said in a confident tone. "I have a belly of iron, I'll be fine." He stated before giving the red apple one last look.

Then, Spyro opened his mouth and took a bite out of the apple, his sharp teeth easily slicing through the fruit's flesh. When he did, Spyro felt his mouth water. The taste that was now stimulating his mouth was sweet and rich. The skin of the apple and the juicy meat crunched in his mouth, making Spyro take another bite out of the apple before swallowing the first.

"Oh man, this is _good._ " Spyro exclaimed, his voice muffled by the food in his mouth.

"Really?" Drobot asked. "Can I have a bite?"

"No." Spyro snapped a little quickly, making Drobot flinch. "But-uh, I mean we could look for more. This is a big forest."

"Yeah, it is." Drobot responded, moving his head to scan the area. "Look! There's another one!" Drobot announced, pointing to Spyro's left.

After taking one last bite out of his apple, Spyro looked over to where Drobot was pointing at. He saw that the coppery green dragon had indeed spotted another shiny red apple, looking just as delicious as the one Spyro had eaten. However, Spyro noticed that there was a small opening behind the apple, creating a small trail through the woods.

Both dragons then walked over to the shiny fruit. After a few seconds of scepticism, Drobot picked up the red apple and took a bite. When he did, his eyes light up, and a long, pleased purring sound emerged from his throat.

"This _is_ really good." Drobot declared. "I could eat three more." He said, taking another, much larger bite out of his apple.

"You and me both, buddy." Spyro agreed.

Then, Spyro began to look around once again, in search for more of the delicious apples. After taking a look forward, down the little forest trail in front of him, Spyro spotted the red shape of another apple, only a few meters away.

"There!" Spyro said out loud, pointing at his find with one of his paws and alerting Drobot of it.

After this, both dragons hurried over to the red fruit, traveling down the forest trail until they reached the shiny, red fruit. However, once Spyro traveled a few meters down the trail, just as he was about to get close enough to reach for the apple, his attention was drawn by something else.

Another clearing, very similar to the one Spyro and Drobot had just come from, stood at the end of the forest trail. And just like the first clearing, a delicious-looking fruit was laying in the middle. However, this fruit was different. It was several times larger than an apple. It also had an oval-like shape and a dark green color. It was a watermelon, and it looked just as delicious as the apples Spyro and Drobot had picked up so far.

"Hey, Drobot?" Spyro called, not taking his eyes off the watermelon.

"Yeah?" Drobot's voice responded, however, it sounded muffled and it sounded like the coppery green dragon was chewing on something. Spyro assumed it was the apple the two of them had just found.

"Look at that." Spyro said, pointing at the watermelon in front of them.

After this, Spyro and Drobot walked slowly over to the large fruit in the new clearing. As Spyro got closer to the watermelon, he could see that it was still tied to the ground by its fruit stem, which was decorated by several wide, green leaves.

"Should we split it fifty-fifty?" Spyro asked Drobot, keeping his eyes on the fruit in front of him.

"That sounds fair, let's do that." Drobot responded.

"Alright then." Spyro said with a short sight.

After this, Spyro placed his right paw over the surface of the watermelon, planning to hold it in place before using the sharp claws on his other paw to slice open the green fruit.

However, a split second after Spyro pressed his paw over the watermelon, the fruit exploded. In a burst of red juice and tiny black seeds, the fruit in front of Spyro suddenly exploded like a tasty bomb, completely soaking Spyro and Drobot.

"Urgh!" Spyro groaned in disgust, trying to wipe the sticky red splatter off his scales. He then tried to pick away the little black seeds that refused to fall off with the tips of his claws.

He saw that Drobot was reacting in a similar way, frantically trying to wipe the red mess, primarily off his blue, metallic appendages.

However, something caught Spyro's attention. It was a strange sound, faint and slightly distant. However, the sound grew louder and louder, making it possible for Spyro to identify it. It was laughter, childish and joyful. It sounded really close now, but Spyro couldn't seem to track down it's source.

"Oh, man!" A squeaky voice began suddenly. "You should have seen your face!" It said, before breaking into laughter once again.

Then, with a strange skittering noise, a small, green dragon materialised in front of Spyro, surprising him and Drobot enough for the both of them to jump a step back. The little green dragon was laughing himself to tears, rolling on the grassy floor in front of Spyro, all while gripping his sides, probably from laughing too hard.

After a few more seconds, the little green dragon began to slowly compose himself, getting up on his feet and reducing his roaring laughter to small giggles.

"You're Camo." Spyro said, giving the green dragon a wide eyed look.

"Yup, that's me!" Camo confirmed prideful. "And so was this-" He added, wiping off some of the sticky red juice covering Spyro's right shoulder. "Sorry about that, but it was too funny not to do."

Spyro was about to speak, wanting a word with the small dragon, but he was beaten to it by Drobot, who spoke up suddenly.

"How did you do it?" Drobot asked curiously. "Making the watermelon explode like that I mean." He clarified.

"Oh, you wanna know my trick?" Camo asked, his voice giving away a small hint of disbelief. "We'll, _ahem_ , you see, I have a special power that lets me make fruits and vegetables grow really fast. Once they're ripe, I can make them blow up!" Camo explained.

"Fascinating." Drobot said in an awed voice, not taking his eyes off Camo. "Could you tell me more? I've never met a dragon with such a unique power before." He stated.

"You want me to tell you more?" Camo asked in a wondered voice. "Well of course! I haven't had anyone to talk about it in such a long time!" He admitted, his bushy tail wagging behind him.

Spyro also had an interest in learning more about Camo's strange power, for he took found it quite interesting. But, there was something he really had to discuss with the little green dragon first "Actually, Camo." Spyro interjected, drawing the little dragon's focus. "I wanted to talk with you about something, something important."

"Oh, sure!" Camo exclaimed, sitting on his hind legs in front of Spyro. "What do you want to talk about?" He asked, tilting his head to the side and giving Spyro an childish smile, patiently waiting for him to speak.

"I wanted to ask you." Spyro began, recalling something Camo had said a while ago. "What was your reason for leaving the Academy?" He questioned.

At that, Camo's smile disappeared, replaced instead by a nervous expression. "Uhhhhh." He got out, sweat suddenly appearing on the sides of his head as he glanced rapidly to his sides. "I… I had s-something to do." Camo responded vaguely, avoiding Spyro's eyes.

"What did you have to do exactly?" Spyro pressed, leaning in a little closer to Camo.

"I-Ah, had to... uhhhhh." Camo tried to speak, scratching the back of his head and sweating even harder. This went on for a couple of seconds before he closed his eyes and let out a defeated sight, hanging his head low. "Alright, alright. I didn't have anything to do... I lied." He admitted.

"Why would you do that?" Drobot asked suddenly drawing Camo's attention.

"It's just that, all of the other guys had these cool reasons, like duty or family or something like that.." Camo began. "I felt left out, you know? Like I had nothing to show for it. Besides, I'm really vulnerable to peer pressure."

Spyro gave Camo a confused look. "No one was pressuring you to do anything."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Camo responded, giggling nervously to himself. "I guess I just didn't know what to do. I mean, I was faced with _two_ -" He entonated the last word, lifting two of the fingers on one of his paws as he did. "Skylander Academy headmasters, a bunch of cool dragons and I had just been told l evil-sleepwalked through a whole month of my life. What was I supposed to do?" He asked, shrugging and lowering his head again.

Spyro was a little taken back by Camo's words, and judging by his silence, so was Drobot. The two Skylanders looked at the little green dragon in silence for a couple of moments. But, soon enough, Spyro tried to speak.

"Camo." Spyro began, making the little green dragon lift his face to look up at him. "I think-"

Suddenly, a strange sound started to boom across the forest, interrupting sound seem to originate from a fair distance, however, it was getting closer, and at an alarming pace at that. The strange sound, could be described as hundreds of little chew toys bouncing through the forest, closing in on the three dragons.

"Uhhhh, that doesn't sound good." Camo said meekly, taking a couple of steps back from the direction the strange sound was coming from.

"Spyro? What's going on?" Drobot asked, a frightened edge in his voice as he also retreated just like Camo.

Spyro however, stood his ground. He faced the direction of the ever nearing sound before he was able to see what exactly was causing the strange sound. Through the thick tree trunks and dense foliage of the forest, Spyro saw as a huge wave of tiny green creatures, no bigger than a properly inflated basketball jumped through the forest, heading toward Spyro and the two other dragons with their disproportionate mouths, filled with needle-like teeth snapping wildy, while their beady black eyes stayed fixated on them.

"Chompies." Spyro growled, entering battle stance and keeping his eyes on the approaching horde of enemies.

"Uh, oh." Camo whispered behind Spyro.

"Drobot!" Spyro called. "Are you ready for a pop quiz!?" He asked.

"I think this hardly counts as a pop quiz!" Drobot argued frightfully.

"What are you talking about?" Spyro responded. "It'll be a good test of your abilities, and it's a surprise! So I think it fits the description of a pop quiz!" He joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh dear." Drobot sighed nervously, taking a defencive stance behind Spyro.

Then, the first wave of chompies crawled through the tree line and onto the clearing the three dragons were standing on, hopping toward them with their stubby arms flailing behind them.

Spyro was the first to react. He took a short breath and called forth his flames, releasing a volley of three firebolts at the charging chompies in front of him. The projectiles all collided with one of the many green monsters, however, there were over twenty of them still left on the clearing alone and many more were making their way there through the forest.

A couple of chompies, which had avoided Spyro's attacks, rushed at the purple dragon, jumping in the air and lunging at him, their mouths wide open.

"Spyro!" Drobot's voice warned behind Spyro, concerned about the creatures attacking his friend.

However, Spyro was quite calm. As the chompies were about to attack him, Spyro raised his arms in front of him. Then, he felt the two chompies bite down on his forearms, latching onto them with their mouths and biting down frenziedly.

However, Spyro didn't feel any pain, only a slight and irregular pressure around the area the chompies were biting. Spyro's scales prevented the chompies' ravenous bitting from hurting him.

However, after a couple of seconds of futile biting, the two chompies simply gave up and detached from Spyro, running towards Drobot instead.

"Hey!" Spyro shouted, trying to get the chompies to focus on him again.

But it was useless, the two creatures were now fixated on Drobot and to make matters worse, so were five more chompies. All seven creatures then leaped into the air, launching themselves at Drobot.

Spyro was about to yell a warning to his friend, but he saw something that convinced him of doing otherwise. Spyro remained in silence as he saw Drobot extend his metallic blue wings and then, from the shoulder joint of his wings, a swarm of gears shot out at great speeds. These gears then moved through the air, turning sharpy and aiming themselves to hit the chompies attacking Drobot.

Spyro saw as the gears Drobot had fired homed into the seven chompies attacking him, knocking each one out of the air in a series of targeted impacts, effectively leaving the coppey green dragon unscathed to stand, a little proudly, before Spyro.

"Nice!" Spyro congratulated his friend. "Now let's handle the rest!" He said, turning around to the chompies that remained on the clearing.

"Right!" Drobot answered, running over to stand side by side with Spyro.

After this, the two dragons got into battle pose, just as a new wave of chompies entered the clearing, increasing the previously dwindling numbers of the green creatures. Then, one chompie decided to make a move. The green monster jumped through the air, aiming to attack Spyro.

Spyro then inhaled through his nose, ready to release another firebolt at the green creature. But, he once again found himself interrupted. Spyro saw a bright, spiky yellow orb shot through the air and impact against the chompie, creating a small, bright explosion.

After this, Spyro turned around, curious to see where the strange attack had come from. When he did, he saw none other than Camo, who had a brave expression on his face. However, when Spyro turned around to look at him, that expresion vanished.

"Uhhh, you're welcome?" Camo asked innocently.

"That's some good aim." Spyro stated. "Want some more target practice?" He asked, gesturing at the chompies behind him.

Camo then shifted his eyes form Spyro to the chompies, who were growling and snapping at Drobot, barely contain them selves from attacking the three dragons. Camo kept his eyes on the green monsters for a couple of moments, bravery slowly returning to his features.

Then, Camo looked at Spyro once again and smiled confidently. "Yeah, I wouldn't want to get rusty."

At that, Spyro turned around once again, his confidence quickly building up. "Charge!" He shouted, signaling the other two dragons to ready their attacks. Then, Spyro released another firebolt, which crashed against one of the chompies. This attack was followed up by Drobot, who released two orange beams of energy from the circular lenses on his helmet. He was in turn followed up by Camo, who fired four spiky yellow orbs at some clustered chompies.

Then, Spyro used his wings and rose into the air. Once he was above the many green enemies, Spyro took a deep breath before releasing a stream of bright, orange flames. The purple dragon's fire showered over the many chompies that remained, incinerating the ravenous creatures.

"Wow! Well done!" Camo exclaimed below Spyro.

"But now the fire might hurt the forest!" Drobot warned, pointing at the area Spyro had scorched.

There were indeed some stray flames, burning up some of the green grass on the clearing and very slowly climbing up nearby tree trunks. In response to this, Spyro lowered his flight, closing in on the flames. Then, Spyro used his wings, increasing the power of their beat to create a small gale. The wind then blew over the stray flames, putting them out and preventing any damage to the forest.

Afterwards, Spyro touched down on the clearing, facing Camo and Drobot. "Well, that was easy." Spyro said with a cocky smile.

"Actually." Camo began, drawing Spyro's attention. "I think there's a little bit more trouble than that."

"What do you mean?" Drobot asked.

"Those were a lot of chompies." Camo picked up. "For that many to be in one place, it means there must be a Chompie Pod nearby." He explained.

"What are those?" Spyro asked, not being able to recall ever seeing or even hearing about one.

"They're these big plant things that spit out chompies." Camo explained. "It's because of Chompie Pods, which almost no one know about, that chompies are so common in the Skylands."

"Wow, I didn't know about that." Drobot admitted. "But then, how do you know about these pods if they are such a big secret?" He asked, giving Camo an inquisitive look.

"Oh, I know lots of stuff." Camo began, puffing out his chest in pride. "Lots of weird stuff no one else knows."

"Really? Like what?" Spyro asked, curious to see what the little green dragon knew. He noticed that Drobot leaned in too, as if he was also curious.

"The capital of Tanzania is called Dodoma." Camo stated simply.

At that, Spyro and Drobot remained silent, trying to process what the little green dragon had said. "W-What's Tanzania?" Drobot asked slowly, his voice marred with confusion.

"Exactly." Camo said, finger-gunning at Drobot as an answer.

As Spyro looked at Camo he guessed that when Camo said, _"Weird stuff no one else knows about."_ he meant it.

But then, something came into focus in Spyro's mind. "Hey, Camo?" Spyro called, making Camo turn his head toward him. "If there is a Chompie Pod somewhere around here, spawning all these chompies, we should probably get rid of it, don't you think?"

"Hmmm, guess you're right." Camo agreed. "The trick will be finding it though. There's a reason these things are a secret."

"Well, I'm sure you can find it." Spyro stated, putting his right paw on Camo's shoulder. "I believe in you."

At this, Camo gave Spyro a wide eyed stare and remained motionless for a few moments. "You… believe in me?"

"You bet I do." Spyro responded. "If anyone knows the weird and super obscure knowledge to find this thing, it's you."

After this, Camo smiled widely and gave Spyro an energetic nod. "Alright then, let's do this thing! Follow me!" He said, suddenly taking flight and gesturing at Drobot and Spyro to follow him.

"Come on Drobot!" Spyro began, taking flight as well.

"On my way!" Drobot responded, following Spyro.

Then, all three dragons began to fly through the Forest, passing by large trees and thick bushes. Spyro and Drobot followed behind Camo, who coursed through the forest, supposedly guiding the Skylanders to the Chompie Pod nearby. The little green dragon, paused took a look around and then shouted. "It's _this_ way!" pointing at a seemingly random direction.

Spyro for one, had no idea what Camo was using as reference to locate the Chompie Pod. To him, it seemed like the little green dragon was just taking them for an unconventional tour through the forest. But, for some reason, Spyro didn't question Camo. He felt like the small dragon knew what he was doing, even if no one else did.

And, after a few minutes, Spyro's faith was repaid when Camo came to a sudden stop, touching down on a large tree branch, sturdy enough for him to sit down and said. "It's here."

The green dragon spoke in a hushed voice, which made Spyro do the same. "The pod? You found it?" He asked.

"Yes." Camo answered simply keeping his back turned to the Skylanders, using one of his paws to gesture at Spyro and Drobot to come closer. "It's bigger than I thought it'd be." He added, making Spyro feel a little worried.

As Spyro and Drobot caught up with Camo, sitting down beside him on the large branch, they looked down and ahead. Then, they both had to resist an urge to gasp.

Standing meters tall and meters wide, in the middle of a thick web of thick green vines that crawled through the forest floor and up the nearby tree trunks, a massive bulbous thing, that looked like a monstrous unbloomed flower writhed and wiggled. It's green and purple petals seemed thick and slimy, jagged teeth-like spikes ran across their edges.

"I am inclined to guess." Drobot began. "That, _that_ -" He pointed at the monstrous bulb in front of them. "Is the Chompie Pod."

"You guessed right buddy." Camo answered. "And it's a real big one at that. I bet it could spawn a hundred chompies in a day!"

At that, Spyro saw the Chompie Pod squirm strangely, alarming the dragons. Then, the bulb seemed to retract, before extending again, opening the tips of it's petals. Once it did this, a large mass of green goo shot out of the monstrous plant. After the slimy projectile began to curve down, it hit the ground, making a disgusting sound, like a massive booger spattering against the floor. It made Spyro gag out of disgust.

But then, Spyro saw as something began to move within the spattered goo. Emerging from the gelatinous substance, five, chompies emerged, followed soon by another five, all of them slowly getting on their subby feet before violently shaking off the gooey stuff that still covered them. After this, the many green creatures screeched in unison, opening their mouths wide, exposing their brand new, needle-like teeth.

"The chompie pods drain the life out of the nearby plants." Camo began suddenly, drawing Spyro and Drobot's attention. "Those vines-" Camo pointed at the intricate web of green vines that spread out from the Chompie pod. "Spread out and start to take all the nutrients from the other trees, making them starve to death." When Camo said this, Spyro noticed that all the vegetation nearby, all the trees and bushes, looked dark and malnourished, as if the live was being drained form them.

"And then, to make things worse." Camo continued. "All those nutrients they steal, they use to breed chompies, which then go and steal food from innocent people to feed their pod, making it bigger and even more dangerous."

"Wow, I never thought plants could be so evil." Spyro said, surprised by Camo's information. Spyro had mostly taken chompies for granted as little, weak monsters. He never thought they could be linked to something this dangerous.

"Oh, believe me." Camo picked up. "These are some really evil plants. I've tried to get rid of some of some of them for a while, but-" His voice trailed off, making Spyro turn his head to look at him. "I guess I'm not good enough." Camo said in a low voice, hanging his head.

"Hey." Spyro said softly. "Look man, you can't expect to be able to take on this sort of thing alone. Take it from me, because I speak from experience.." Spyro paused, thinking back to all the times, recent and long in the past, where he had screwed up just because he felt like he had to do everything himself. "You don't have to do this by yourself."

"Yeah." Drobot interjected, making Camo tur around to look at him. "We've got your back this time."

After the two dragons finished speaking, Camo began to shift his gaze between them, giving them wide-eyed glances all while staying silent, completely taken back.

"I… I don't know what to say." Camo admitted.

Then, Spyro saw as Camo stretched his arms above his head and hooked each one around Spyro's and Drobot's necks respectively, pulling both dragons into a hug. "New friends!" Camo shouted out joy.

Spyro was a little surprised by this sudden display, but he was also happy. He had indeed made a new friend and in Spyro's mind, that was always a good thing.

However, the moment was interrupted by a strange, gluterral roar that shook the forest. The three dragons turned their heads to where the strange roar had come from. The Chompie Pod.

The malevolent plant had apparently detected their presence. It then began to squirm and writhe. Then, from the opening at the tip of it's sealed flower, the Chompie Pod fired another ball of goo, followed by another, and then another.

As the gooey projectiles splattered against the forest floor, a new wave of chompies emerged, all screeching angrily at the three dragons.

"I count forty." Drobot stated, a slightly frightened expression on his armored face.

"There's gonna be more of them soon unless we take the pod out." Camo warned.

"Well then." Spyro began tensing up, getting ready for battle. "I think it's time we did a little weeding around here."

"You said it!" Camo agreed, imitating Spyro's battle pose exactly, something Spyro found a little odd.

"Just say the word, Spyro." Drobot said, getting ready as well.

Spyro looked at the enemies below him. He looked at the many chompies, ravenously snapping their jaws at him and his friends. He then looked at the Chompie Pod. The gargantuan, bulging plant writhed idely, as if it was waiting to see what happened.

In that case, Spyro wasn't going to keep it waiting. "Now!" He shouted, leaping off the tree branch, followed by his friends.

The three dragons flew toward their enemies, soaring above them and avoiding the chompies, who tried leaping up at them, snapping their jaws at the dragons whenever they flew over them.

Then, as Spyro got close to the Chompie Pod, he called forth his flames, taking a deep breath before releasing a jet of orange fire from his mouth, which then clashed against the Chompie Pod. However,the flames did not scorch the green petals on the monstrous bulb, instead, they bounced off harmlessly against the plant, which against Spyro's flames, looked like a rock splitting a river.

"What!?" Spyro asked, shocked by the futility of his attack.

"The pod has a membrane of slime to protect itself!" Camo yelled, his voice coming from behind Spyro. "It protects itself from fire and other stuff like that! You'll need either electricity or death magic to punch through it" He explained.

"I wish Cynder was here." Spyro grumbled, thinking about how easy her spectral lightning would have made this.

But, not about to give up, Spyro started looking for other options. He looked around, analyzing the location he was in, trying to look for something to use to his advantage. Then, Spyro turned to his friends. He saw as Camo and Drobot were firing their attacks at the chompies below them, releasing yellow orbs and orange lasers at the green creatures.

Then, an idea popped into Spyro's mind. "Drobot!" He called.

At that, Drobot shifted his attention from the chompies to Spyro. "Yes?"

"Drobot, I think I have a plan!" Spyro shouted at his friend.

"You do?" Camo asked suddenly.

"Yes, but it will take all three of us." Spyro stated, making his friends listen in carefully, all while chompies jumped up at them from below, barely out of reach. "I think we can destroy that thing, without attacking it directly." Spyro began. "Drobot, do you think those lazers of yours can cut through one of these trees?" He asked.

"I think so." Drobot answered. "But I'd need to get close to the trunk itself. Why?"

"You want to crush the pod." Camo interjected suddenly. "Have the forest get its revenge." He added with a mischievous smile.

"You got it" Spyro confirmed his friend's guess. "But then, one of us will have to look out for Drobot's back while he cuts one of these trees down, while the other makes sure none of the chompies run away."

"I can stop the chompies!" Camo volunteered energetically, lifting one of his arms over his head.

"That's the spirit, Camo!" Spyro exclaimed. "Well then, that means everyone knows what to do?" He asked, looking at Drobot and Camo.

"Yes!" The two dragons confirmed in unison.

"Alright then." Spyro picked up, a smile growing on his face. "Let's do this!" He declared.

At that, the three dragons moved through the scene, soaring above their enemies and getting in place to enact Spyro's plan. Drobot picked out a specific tree, one with a trunk big enough to crush the Chompie Pod. After He flew down near to the base of the trunk, he turned around, giving Spyro, who flew close behind him, a firm nod before starting to fire his orange lasers at the tree trunk. Once the energy connected to the brown wood, it started to burn through. Then, Drobot began to slowly move to his right, moving the cutting lasers along the tree trunk.

Spyro then landed on the forest floor, trusting his friend above him to get his job done. Spyro then turned around and when he did, he had seconds to react to the five chompies that were leaping through the air, aiming to bite his face off. Spyro then took a quick breath and released a volley of firebolts at his enemies. Each fiery projectile collided against one of the little green creatures, blowing each one out of the air in a chain of small, smoky blasts.

After this, Spyro saw another group of chompies beguin to charge at him. However, these ones moved differently. The big bunch of creatures all piled up into a tiny living mountain. The chompies on the bottom held the ones above them up, while those did the same thing to the ones above them, effectively creating a mildly intimidating pile of snapping jaws that slowly scuttled toward Spyro.

"Alright then." Spyro said slowly, lowering his body and tensing up his hind legs. "Bring it on."

At that, Spyro began rushing through the forest floor, straight at the pile of chompies. The purple dragon dipped his head down and small orange flames began bursting out of his horns. When Spyro headbutted the chompie pile, he tackled through them like a bowling ball punching through bowling pins. The pile of creatures all stumbled off their balance and fell to the floor.

After this, Spyro took a look around, getting a hang of the situation. The first thing that came into his field of vision was the monstrous Chompie Pod, writhing as usual, still protected by it's slimy shield. Then, Spyro saw Camo. The green dragon was fighting off a good number of Chompies, however, he was doing it in a rather strange manner.

Camo was flying, dangerously low to the forest floor, all while an ever growing mob of chompies followed him, snapping their jaws angrily at the green dragon. Some of the chompies tripped on the many thick vines that webbed through the floor, making the whole scene look quite ridiculous, especially since it looked like Camo wasn't actually attacking the chompies.

However, upon closer inspection, Spyro could see that Camo was releasing a trail of tiny, bright red seeds. Whenever he wagged his bushy tail in wide arches, a small amount of seeds fell out behind him. When these seeds connected to the ground, they suddenly began growing at an incredible rate, ripening into fully grown watermelons in seconds.

But that wasn't it. When the watermelons ripened, thew grew big enough to temporarily obstruct the chompies chasing Camo. However, when the chompies collided against the watermelons, the large green fruits exploded. Spyro remembered Camo doing the same thing to him and Drobot a little while ago. However this blast of red juice and seeds was different. The mellons the small horde of chompies triggered, exploded much more violently, actually sending the chompies flying back from the blast.

"Wow." Spyro got out, impressed by the fact Camo had taken out a good twelve chompies by himself.

In fact, because of Camo's efforts, Spyro could notice that there were now much fewer chompies and the ones that remained stayed at a doubtful distance from the three dragons.

"Drobot?" Spyro called. "How is the lumberjack work coming along?" He asked.

"I'm over halfway there!" Drobot declared. "Just wait a little longer!"

"I think we can wait a little longer." Spyro said cockily. "Don't you think, Camo!?" He asked his friend, giving him a confident smile.

"Heck yeah!" Camo exclaimed energetically.

But then, another gluterral roar thundered through the forest, once again coming from the Chompie Pod. Then, the large bulb began to squirm, more violently and writhe more disgustingly. After a few disgusting moments, the Chompie Pod opened the tips of its petals and another burst of goo came shooting out.

However, this goo was different. It was purple instead of green. When the strange substance crashed against the forest floor, Spyro saw as something began to move under its surface.

It was a single, purple chompie. However, Spyro noticed that this one was more than twice the size of a regular chompie. It's stubby, purple arms ended in three sharp, black claws, opposite to the little white ones on most chompies.

Then, the purple creature let out a shrill screech, very similar, just more powerful than that of ordinary chompies. Afterwards, the purple chompie bent down and looked like it was picking something up, something hidden by the disgusting purple gelatine beneath its feet. However, after a short struggle, the purple monster pulled out what it was seeking; one of the Chompie Pod's vines.

Then, holding the vine with both of it's clawed hands, the chompie bit down, driving it's needle-like teeth into the vine. When it did this, the purple chompie started glowing, an eerie purple glow that covered it's whole figure. As this glow persisted, Spyro noticed something that made him worry.

"Is that thing growing!?" Spyro asked, taking a couple of steps back from the purple chompie, that was indeed growing bigger.

"It sure looks like it." Camo said in a small voice, also backing away from the growing creature.

"What is growing?" Drobot's voice asked from behind Spyro.

"Nothing, man!" Spyro answered quickly. "You just keep doing your thing." He said, chuckling nervously.

"Well alright." Drobot sighed, resuming his job.

Afterwards, Spyro refocused on the chompie in front of him. The purple monster was now several times larger than any other chompie he had ever seen before, standing taller than even Spyro himself. Spyro noticed that the purple monster had dropped the Chompie Pod's vine, meaning it was no longer glowing and had also stopped growing.

But then, the purple chompie screeched again, bearing its teeth at Spyro. "Oh come on. Why me?" Spyro groaned as he saw the monstrous chompie charge at him, moving at much greater speeds than a regular chompie.

At this, Spyro took flight, shooting a quick fireball at one of the purple chompies eyes, disorienting the large monster and allowing Spyro to regroup with Drobot, getting on into a defencive stance. Spyro took a quick glance backward, and noticed that Drobot was almost done cutting the tree trunk, he simply needed Spyro to buy him more time.

"Camo!" Spyro called, keeping his eyes on the large purple chompie that was rubbing the eye Spyro had wounded. He also noticed that the smaller green chompies that had remained were flocking toward the big purple one as if they were waiting for it to do something.

"Yeah?" The green dragon responded, flying over to Spyro and landing beside him.

"Any idea what that is or how to stop it?" Spyro asked, pointing at the monstrous purple creature.

"I've never seen one of those before." Camo stated. "It must be some sort of guardian." He explained, a small edge of fear in his voice.

"Then we have to bring it down." Spyro declared. "We can't let it go around causing mayhem in the Skylands."

"You're right." Camo began. "But, how are we going to stop it?" He asked.

At that, Spyro tensed up, looking at the purple creature in front of him. "Together." Spyro said simply. "You ready?" He asked, turning his head toward Camo and giving him an expectant look.

At this, Camo gave Spyro a firm nod before turning his head toward the large purple chompie, somethin Spyro did as well.

Then, the two dragons took off, flying straight at the large monster and firing their attacks at it. Spyro released a volley of firebolts at the large purple chompie while camo rained down red seeds all over the smaller green chompies, creating explosive watermelons that blasted the small creatures away.

Afterwards, Spyro dove down, dipping his head and steadying his flight. Then, he rammed right at the large chompie's chest, effectively knocking the creature off it's ballance. After getting out of the way, Spyro saw as the purple chompie stumbled and triped, falling against nothing other than the Chompie Pod. After this, Camo fired two spiky yellow orbs at the purple chompies eyes, further disorienting the large creature.

"Drobot!" Spyro shouted. "Now would be a good time!"

"I got it!" Drobot shouted back. "Watch out!"

At that, Spyro turned around toward the tree Drobot had been cutting. He saw as the massive wooden pillar began to slowly tilt downward, creating a loud cracking sound as it did.

Seeing the falling tree loom over him, made Spyro react, quickly dashing to his side to avoid being crushed. Camo who also reacted in time, followed Spyro's lead, running in the same direction as Spyro.

However, the purple chompie hadn't moved in time. It had just stopped rubbing its wounded eyes when the massive tree trunk slammed down over it and the Chompie Pod, creating a thunderous sound that resonated through the forest. Spyro then looked over at where the Chompie Pod and the monstrous chompie once stood. The thick, wooden trunk had flattened both enemies, leaving only the intricate web of bright green vines spreading out from the Chompie Pod. However, after a few seconds, these vines began to quickly lose their color, becoming dark and shriveling up.

As this happens, Spyro noticed that the colors of all the treed nearby turned brighter and more vibrant. Then a gust of wind blew through the area, blowing gently against Spyro's face, almost as if this part of the forest had taken a fresh breath of air.

"Wow." The three dragons said simultaneously, wondered by the sight of the revilatized forest.

"That was awesome." Camo said merrily. "We should do it again some time!"

"Yeah, we should." Spyro agreed. "But, I'm afraid, there's a little condition you'll have to follow if you want to do this with us again." Spyro stated, giving Camo a small smile.

"Reall? What is it!?" Camo asked energetically. "I'll do anything!" He declared, wagging his tail behind him.

At that, Spyro smiled wider before speaking. "You'll have to become a Skylander."

At that, Camo froze and his jaw dropped. The little green dragon remained dumbfounded for a couple of moments, not moving or saying anything. This actually made Spyro and Drobot feel a little concerned.

"Umm, are you alright?" Drobot asked, a slightly worried tone in his voice.

But then, Camo shook his head wildly, snapping himself back into the moment. After this, the little green dragon looked at Spyro. "Yes! I wanna become a Skylander!" He announced.

"That's great!" Spyro said, letting out a joyful laugh. "Then we have to get you to Skylander Academy so you can join!"

"Alright!" Camo exclaimed. "Let's go!" At that, Camo turned around and began running.

"Camo, wait!" Spyro called, effectively stopping the green dragon in his tracks and making him turn around. "You don't know where Skylander Academy is." Spyro reminded his new friend.

"Oh, right." Camo said simply. "Where to?" He asked with a meek voice.

At that, the three dragons shared a laugh, amused by Camo's antics. Them with little delay, the three of them took off, on their way to Skylander Academy. As they traveled, wide smiles crossed all of their faces, for a strange feeling hung over them, a feeling that whispered to them from the backs of their heads. That they were going to have quite the adventure together.

* * *

Mike was a small mabu that lived alone in his village and worked as a bartender in Mr. Sloan's bar. He was walking down to the bar right now, because he had to talk to his boss, about money.

As Mike got to the bar, he noticed the large Bad Bouncer, Mr. Sloan had hired to guard the entrance of the bar. The large, stocky robot had it's red arms crossed over it's chest while an angry frown seemed to be stuck on it's face. The robot looked as intimidating as ever, meant to prevent passage to any "inappropriate clients".

As Mike moved to enter the bar, he was left alone by the Bad Bouncer, since it recognized him to be an employee. Then, Mike opened the doors to the bar and walked in.

Inside the bar, he saw three people. Ms. Jane, a little old woman who was reading the newspaper in one of the corners of the bar. Butch, a big mabu who wore a bandana over his head and had tattoo of a snake on his right arm, was sitting on one of the stools in front of the counter, talking to Mr. Sloan, a middle aged mabu, sporting a gray mustache and who was washing some glasses.

As Mike got closer to Butch and Mr Sloan, he started to hear what the two were talking about.

"I'm telling you." Butch said, taking a sip from his drink, a serving of milk held in a beer mug. "I saw a dragon today. It was rather small, and a little skinny, but one thing I remember, clear as day, is that it had purple scales."

"Come on Butch." Mr. Sloan began, setting the glass he was cleaning don on the counter. "The only purple dragon around these parts is that Skylander boy. What would he be doing by himself all the way out here near the Outlands?"

"I don't know, dragons are weird!" Butch responded. "But I know what I saw. Maybe there's just happen to be some other purple dragon."

"Well whatever." Mr. Sloan began. "Purple dragon or not, as long as he doesn't come stir trouble at my bar, I don't see why I should care."

After the two mabu finished talking, Mike decided it was a good time to speak up. "Mr. Sloan?" He called, drawing his boss' attention.

"Ah, Mike me boy!" Mr. Sloan said. "I didn't see you there, this muscle head was blocking the view." He said, pointing at Butch.

"Hey!" Butch complained, apparently offended.

"Anyway." Mr. Sloan picked up. "What brings you here boy? It's your day off."

"Mr. Sloan I was wondering." Mike started up, advering Mr. Sloans eyes. "If I could get some more money?"

"Why would you need more money?" Mr. Sloan asked.

"The heater at my house broke down." Mike explained. "I can't fix it on my own and there aren't any mechanics around, so I thought I could buy a new one with some extra cash, since winter is coming and all."

"Hmmm, how much money are we talking about here?" Mr. Sloan asked, narrowing his eyes at Mike.

"About thirty silver pieces?" Mike stated meekly.

"Thirty silver pieces!?" Mr. Sloan exclaimed.

"Shhh!" Ms. Jane suddenly shushed, aparantly anoyed out of her reading.

"Sorry Ms. Jane." All three male mabu apologised in unison befor resuming their conversation, in more silent tones.

"Boy, you're asking me to give you almost three months of payment in advance. I can't do that." Mr. Sloan declared.

"But, winter is coming in a week!" Mike argued. "I'm gonna freeze!"

"Boy if I give you that much money, my bar is gonna crash." Mr. Sloan began. "Then _I'm_ gonna freeze."

"What am I supposed to do then?" Mike asked.

"Maybe I could get you a part time job kid." Butch stepped in. "You know we can always use an extra hand down at the mine."

"Really?" Mike asked, surprised by the offer.

"Sure!" Butch assured. "The work is pretty rough on newbies, but you get used to it. Besides it comes with it's perks. Firstly, the pays is much better than whatever _this_ old crook is giving ya." He said, pointing at Mr. Sloan with his thumb.

"Hey!" Mr. Sloan complained, apparently offended.

"And the added bonus is." Butch continued, unfazed by Mr. Sloan's complains. "That after a while, you'll get to be as big and strong as me!" He said, flexing his tatoo-bearing arm in front of Mike.

"You sure you can do that Butch?" Mike asked, hope finding its way into his heart.

"Definitely." Butch answered. "You're a good kid, Mike. I'd be a shame to see you turned into a lame-tasting popsicle."

"That _would_ be a shame." Mr. Sloan agreed.

Then, a disturbing sound boomed coming just from outside the bar. To Mike, it sounded like a violent struggle, like the sound of someone fighting.

"Must be some drunk jerk tryna get past my new bouncer." Mr. Sloan suggested. "Nothing to worry about. That thing is as mean as they come and as tough as they come too. So just rela-"

Then, with no warning, a large chunk of metal shot through the bar's wooden door. Mike had seconds to duck out of the way, just before the metal chunk crashed on the bar counter.

Mike then straightened out and turned around to see what had been launched at him. His face went pale when he saw the nothing other than the Bad Bouncer's head, detached from its body, electric sparks shooting out of it's decapitated neck.

At that, Mike slowly turned around to see the bar entrance, which had a brand-new hole blown across it, slowly be opened by someone. The large figure opened the bar door slowly, almost gently before stepping into the bar.

The figure had a huge ash-gray hooded cloak covering its body, preventing Mike from getting any sort of details about what it looked like. However, even under the cloak, Mike could tell it was tall, almost thrice his own height. That alone would have made the figure intimidating, but what added to the creep factor, was the fact that the figure was breathing, long, raspy breaths, almost as if it hadn't taken a drink in years.

Then, the figure began to walk, slowly and with heavy, sonorous steps toward the bar counter. Mike felt paralyzed, for some reason, he couldn't will himself to move even as the figure sat down right beside him on the counter. All Mike could do was keep his wide, frightened eyes on the hooded figure.

Mike noticed that Mr. Sloan and Butch had also remained completely silent during the figure's entrance. The silence was only broken by the sound of Mr. Sloan swallowing hard, before speaking.

"W-W-What can I do f-for you?" The middle aged mabu stuttered.

There was a short silence, dreadful and unnecessarily long before the figure answered. "Food." The figure said simply, in a voice so hushed and raspy it made Mike get cold chills just from hearing it. "Water." The figure added, worsening Mike's chills, but also giving him a little information about the figure.

It's voice was that of a woman, a very, very scary woman.

"Y-Yes of course." Mr. Sloan picked up. "Food and Water, c-coming right up!"

And at that, Mr. Sloan rushed to the bar kitchen, leaving Butch and Mike alone with the now silent figure.

Even if the figure now remained idle, Mike simply couldn't bring himself to move a muscle. He felt like if he tried to even shift his weight in his seat, something terrible would happen to him.

And so, after a few minutes, that to Mike seemed like hours, Mr. Sloan returned, carrying in one hand a large, round platter of food and in the other, a platter filled with several mugs of different kinds of drinks. He then set the two platters carefully down in front of the figure.

Apparently, Mr. Sloan, probably out of precaution, had brought the figure a little bit of everything, just in case it was a little picky. There were burgers, chips, steaks, chicken nuggets and more fast food items in the food platter. Then, in the drink plater, there were mugs of milk, water, and a couple of sodas.

"T-That's everything we have." Mr. Sloan said, trying to force his voice to express pride instead of fear. "P-Please! Enjoy!" he invited, gesturing at the food and beverage.

Then, the figure leaned in, apparently taking a look at it's meal. Then, the figure seemed to take a long siff, like a bloodhound inspecting its food before digging in. But then, the figure grasped the food platter and slammed it's head into it, devouring all the food like a ravenous dog. After only a few seconds, the figure lifted it´s head to reveal that nothing, not even a single morsel of food remained on the platter. Then, the figure began to grab the many mugs of drinks chugging down each one in just a couple of gulps before violently setting down the empty mugs back on the platter.

After the figure drank the last of the mugs, it let out a long, satisfied sigh. However, it spoke once again. "More." The figure's voice demanded, now sounding a little less like that of a corpse.

"Uhhh. I'm sorry." Mr. Sloan apologised nervously. "I'm afraid we don't have any mo-"

Before Mr. Sloan could finish his sentence, he was grabbed by the neck by the figure, who moved so fast, Mike couldn't even process it's movement until it had its right, gloved hand around Mr. Sloan's neck. "I… said… _more_." The figure hissed.

"Hey!" Butch's voice suddenly sounded. "You let him go you freak!" He shouted.

What followed was quite difficult for Mike to process. The first thing he saw was Butch leap at the figure from across his seat on the counter. The mabu had his right hand balled up into a fist and had his right arm tensed behind his head, apparently planning to punch the figure.

However, to Mike's horror, the figure moved it's left, free hand to reach for something in it's cloak. When it pulled out whatever it had reached for, the only thing Mike's eyes were keen enough to see was Butch be sent off flying in the opposite direction of the figure. When this happened, Mike hear a strange sound, like glass shattering before Butch got sent flying. He also noticed that glowing icy-blue shards spread across the floor now. He had no idea how those had gotten there.

Then, Mike hear something heavy thump against the floor. He noticed that the figure had let go of Mr. Sloan, letting the probably unconscious bartender collapse on the floor behind the counter.

Then, Mike saw the figure shift and move, pointing it's hooded head right at him. When it did this, Mike's heart stopped beating for a second, before jump starting and racing faster than a supercharger. He felt like the figure was looking right at him, like it's eyes were fixated right on his and that made Mike want to scream. But no sound came out of his throat.

Then, Mike saw the figure start moving its arms beneath it's cloak. Then, he saw as the figure raised it's right arm reaching out to grab him, which almost instinctively made Mike close his eyes and shrink.

He expected the worst, but when the figure's touche came, it was something unexpected. The figure laid its hand on Mike's head, rather gently. It's touch was cold, colder than death, but there was something else and it made Mike slowly open his eyes. The figure seemed to be ruffling Mike's hair, scratching his head softly, almost comfortingly. It would have been relaxing if it Mike hadn't seen the figure do what if had to his friends.

However, the figure didn't stop there. It drew its arm back into its gray cloak and moved it around before extending out to Mike again. In the palm of it's hand, the figure held a single shiny coin. A gold piece, worth more than what Mike earned in a year working for Mr. Sloan.

Apparently, the figure wanted Mike to take the coin because it held it out for him and waited patiently for him to do so. So, with a little hesitation, Mike reached out and using the very tips of his fingers, he picked up the gold piece and watched the figure return it's arm back into its cloak. Then, without saying a word, the figure began to move, heading to the exit of the bar. After a few moments, Mike saw as the figure left, leaving no indication of returning.

"Shhh!" Ms. Jane's voice suddenly sounded, making Mike almost jump out of his skin. He had completely forgotten about the little old lady.

But then, Mike looked at the gold piece he had received from the figure, then he looked at Butch's unconscious body, and at Mr. Sloan's trashed bar. And then, without a second thought, Mike rushed out of the bar, running faster than he ever had ran in his life desperate to shelter himself in his home and force himself to forget that dreadful encounter.

* * *

 _Author's notes_

 _Welp, here it is, chapter three. Hope you enjoyed! More chapters on the way!_

-I don't own Skylanders Academy

-A new friend? Camo joins the fray!


	4. Chapter 4

**Skylanders Academy: Song of the Hunt**

by andresponceb2002

 **Chapter 4)**

The sun was shining high above the clouds. Cynder was walking beside her fellow Skylanders. The team was heading to a mission location that had been given to them by Kaossandra.

Apparently, Hugo had caught wind of some more rumors about the One-Eyed Legion, as well as a potential meeting ground for Unulus and a new gang of recruits. The place itself, Cynder remembered, was called Willow Valley, an isle a fair distance north of the Academy.

"How much furtheeeer?" Pop Fizz moaned beside Cynder, dragging his arms behind him as he walked.

"We're almost there Pop." Jet-Vac responded. He was leading the group and holding a map, supposedly guiding them to their mission's location. "I think." He added, flipping the map over in a suspiciously quick motion.

"You do know where we're going, right JV?" Cynder asked, a slightly concerned edge in her voice.

"Of course I know where we're going!" Jet-Vac responded. "It's just a long trip."

After a while and after Stealth Elf snached the map out of Jet-Vac's hands, the group arrived at a rather sizeable isle. There were four, great bridges connecting to the isle from each of the cardinal directions, allowing anyone to come and visit the location. The large, semi-flat surface of the isle had hills and large gray rocks emerging from the ground. However, one thing that made the isle stand out. was the massive willow tree, standing tall in the dead-center of the isle. The deep green leaves drooped down from the tree's tall branches as a faint breeze made them shuffle, creating a soothing rustling sound.

"It would seem we're here early." Jet-Vac started up, walking up one of the small hills in the isle.

"Either that or Unulus isn't a very punctual person." Eruptor suggested, walking up to Jet-Vac.

"I'm sure the bad guys are gonna be here." Cynder began. "We just need to be ready for when they do. We need to make sure that whatever gang Unulus is trying to recruit doesn't join up with him."

"You're right, Cynder." Stealth Elf said. "If Unulus keeps recruiting these cyclop gangs, then a lot of people could be in danger."

"Yeah." Pop Fizz interjected. "How do you think Spyro's doing?" He asked while scratching his head, completely changing the subject.

"Uhh, I'm sure he's fine, Pop Fizz." Stealth Elf responded awkwardly.

"I remember Spyro being a good teacher." Cynder stated "So I wonder how that new guy's training is going." She said, thinking about the coppery green dragon that Spyro had taken under his wing.

"I bet Spyro will probably have killed that por runt by now." Eruptor said sarcastically, making the rest of the Skylanders give him unapproving glares. "What?" Eruptor asked, shrugging and glancing between his friends. "It's just a joke!"

Before anyone could scold Eruptor further, a strange sound began to resonate, reaching the Skylander's ears. The sound was steady and unchanging, like many small hammers shaking the earth.

"They're here." Cynder whispered, lowering her body, a motion the rest of the Skylander's imitated. "What do we do? Do we fight them? Or do we listen in first?" She asked, looking between her friends.

"I say we wait a little." Pop Fizz stated.

"I say we kick their butts!" Eruptor said in hushed voice, slamming one of his fists on the ground.

"What is even going on over there, anyway?" Cynder asked, mildly frustrated at the fact the hill the Skylanders were behind blocked their view of what was going on.

Cynder then crawled on the grass-covered floor, staying low and moving silently as she tried to get a peek of the situation. Once she reached the top of the hill, Cynder could look down on a concerning scene.

Standing on opposite ends of the island, were two large groups of cyclops, each fully armed and looking ready for a fight. On her right-hand side, Cynder saw a group of rather familiar enemies. There were two different kinds of cyclops in the right-hand bunch. Some of them were green and slightly smaller than the others. These cyclops wore, brown fur hunter garb and wielded jagged spears. The other members of the group were taller, skinnier and had icy blue skin. They were each wielding two metal hatchets and had some pieces of blue metallic armor. Cynder also noticed this group was much larger than the other.

Turning her head to her left, Cynder got a look of the second group. These cyclops also had blue skin and were wearing white, hooded robes that had thick purple linings. They were all wielding oversized magnifying glasses and Cynder could notice that their bulging eyeballs were rather bloodshot. Noticing these details made Cynder recognise these cyclops from her previous encounters with them. She recalled they could fire orange lasers from their eyes.

Then, Cynder saw as something or someone started to move through the cluster of wizard-looking cyclops, slowly making its way to the front of the group. After a few moments, Cynder saw a distinctive cyclop start to move among his brethren. He was slightly taller than the rest and had a bright green skin tone that contrasted with the blue hues on his fellow cyclops. He dressed in a bright red robe with red lining and also had a dark brown belt, from which two large magnifying glasses hung down. They were smaller than the ones the other robed cyclops had but they were still quite sizeable.

This cyclop made his way to the forefront of his group, where he stood and crossed his arms over his chest, looking a little impatient.

"Well?" The red robed cyclop began. "Where is he?" He demanded loudly, keeping his bloodshot eye on the other group of cyclops.

"Right here." A breathy, dreadfully familiar voice hissed, coming from the group of cyclops to Cynder's right.

This made Cynder turn her head to where she heard and watch carefully. She saw as a slender, skeletal, cyclop, clad in dark, spiky armor made his way to the front of his group. His gangly arms were dragging on the floor behind him, his sharp metal gauntlets, made a strange sound as they scraped against the ground. After a short moment, Unulus was standing opposite to the red-robed cyclop, hunched over and with his dark purple eye half closed.

"Guys." Cynder called in a hoarse whisper. "He's here."

"Unulus is here?" Stealth Elf asked, dropping to the ground and crawling over to where Cynder was looking from.

"What do we do?" Jet-Vac asked quietly, also crawling to get a look on the situation. "Should we wait and see what's gonna happen? For all we know we know, they _could_ just take each other out." He suggested.

"I mean…" Cynder began, taking a look at the many cyclops. "I think they might-"

"Unulus!" A voice shouted, interrupting Cynder. "I thought you'd be taller!"

The voice came from the red-robed cyclop. He seemed to address Unulus.

"Muno." Unulus called the other cyclop's name. "We've met before." He said in an annoyed voice.

"I know. Tis' just been a long time old friend." Muno stated. "In any case. You said you wanted to meet. What for?"

"I have an endeavor." Unulus explained simply. "I am-

"Trying to put the Legion back together." Muno interrupted. "Yeah, I've heard. I've also heard about how you pummeled that purple alligator! Spyglass, I think he was called." He continued. "He was one of the punks who tore us all down wasn't he?"

"Spyro." Unulus corrected. "He was a noble adversary, but no match for me."

"So I've heard." Muno said, scratching his neck. "Good for you, friend!"

"You seem to be hearing quite a great many things, Muno." Unulus picked up. "That means, you must already know why I called you here."

"Yeah, I do actually." Muno admitted. "You want me and my boys to enlist in your little army." He said, gesturing at the robed cyclops behind him. "Am I wrong?"

"You're not." Unulus answered. "You and your spellcasters are formidable, as well as useful."

"Huh, tell me about it." Muno scoffed. "What I want to know, are two things." He added, lifting two of his fingers and pointing them at Unulus. "The first thing I wanna know, is why you are doing all of. _This_." He entonated, gesturing at Unulus and his troops.

"I am putting the Legion back together." Unulus began. "Because it unifies us. Ever since the old days, the people of the Skylands have scorned our kind. The One-Eyed Legion was our defensive mechanism, one we desperately need once again."

"What is he talking about?" Stealth Elf asked in a hushed voice. "Cyclops have always been evil, why would they need a _defensive mechanism_ for?" She asked in disbelief.

"I don't know." Cynder admitted. "But he might know something we don't. I for one, don't think they've always been evil." She stated.

"Well, _I_." Eruptor interjected. " _Do_ believe they are evil. This punk is just doing this weird preacher stuff to get more followers." He hissed, pointing at Unulus.

"That's all well and good, Unulus." Muno picked up, making the Skylander's fall silent. "But now, I want to know the answer to my second question."

"And what would that be?" Unulus asked, a slightly dangerous edge in his voice, an edge Cynder managed to notice.

"Why, oh why." Muno began in a dramatic voice. "Should I join you?" He asked,crossing his arms over his chest again.

"I don't think he should have said that." Cynder whispered under her breath.

The violet dragoness looked over to Unulus. The gangly cyclop was standing very still, his glowing white slit, fixated on Muno. Then, Cynder saw Unulus start to move. The cyclop began to walk in a brisk pace, heading directly for Muno and his gang.

At this, Muno's cyclops began to take several steps back, singling out their leader, who stood his ground, even as Unulus came to a stop right in front of him. With both of them standing side by side, Cynder noticed that, if Unulus wasn't hunched over like he was, he'd easily be twice Muno's height.

Then, Cynder saw as Unulus leaned down a little, as if to get on eye-level with Muno. She then heard him speak. "Because then, I won't throw you off this island." Unulus hissed, a sinisterly mery smile on his face.

Muno didn't seem to be very impressed by this however. The red-robed cyclop maintained his composure and kept a straight face even as Unulus loomed over him.

"Wow." Eruptor began beside Cynder. "That guy's pretty brave."

And then, after nodding very slowly, Muno spoke up. "Well, when you put it _that_ way." He said,taking a small pause, still not flinching. After this, Muno took two steps back from Unulus and turned around to face his underlings. Then, Muno lifted one of his arms and pointed at Unulus. "New boss." He said simply.

"New boss!" The many robed cyclops cheered.

"A reasonable choice... old friend." Unulus breathed, a wide, lipless smile on his face as he stared down at Muno.

"Do I get to be second in command?" Muno asked as he turned around to face Unulus. The red-robed cyclop then posed innocently, putting his hands together and pressing them against his chest.

"Sure." Unulus agreed lazily.

Meanwhile, Cynder and the Skylanders watched, concern spreading over them as they watched the two cyclop leaders shake hands while their two gangs cheered, signaling the start of their allegiance.

"Well, so much for them taking each other out." Eruptor grumbled. "I guess we have to do this ourselves."

"Yeah, but that's alright." Cynder said, calling her fellow Skylanders' attention. "I think I have an idea on how we can beat these guys." He stated.

"Really?" Pop Fizz asked suddenly, barely keeping his voice down, something that made everyone else shush at him.

"That there-" Cynder pointed at the large crowd of one-eyed enemies. "Is a lot of cyclops. If we're going to beat all of them, we are going to have to split up."

"I think I know what you're thinking." Stealth Elf said. "You want them to split their focus. They might have numbers, but I think we all know they aren't very bright. They won't be able to handle too many threats at once."

"I like it!" Jet-Vac expressed. "When are we ready?" He asked eagerly, drawing his vac-gun.

Cynder then took a quick look through her companions. All of them had confident expressions on their faces and they all had their weapons drawn. They seemed quite eager to fight their one-eyed enemies.

"Alright." Cynder began, anticipation making her tense. "Just remember, split up and don't let them corner you. Even if they aren't very bright, they are still dangerous. Plus, there's like ten of them for every one of us." She added, swaying her head to her left innocently.

"Aw yeah!" Eruptor exclaimed loudly, getting on his feet and surprising everyone, Skylanders and cyclops alike. "It butt kicking time!"

At that, Eruptor began to rush down the hill the Skylanders were hiding on, straight at the large cluster of cyclops, laughing maniacally as he shot multiple firebolts at the crowd.

"That should draw their attention." Jet-Vac said deflatedly.

" _All_ their attention." Stealth Elf added in an annoyed tone as Eruptor suddenly changed his trajectory, running away from the horde of cyclops instead of charging at it. Eruptor now screamed frightened as a small army of enemies now chased him through the isle, firing orange lasers and jagged spears at the fleeing Skylander.

"Well, I guess we have to help him now." Cynder sighed. "You guys ready?" She asked, giving her friends one last look.

"Whenever you are." Stealth Elf responded, pulling up her bandana and giving Cynder a firm nod.

"Alright then." Cynder began, shifting her gaze from her friends to her enemies. "Let's go!"

At that, the violet dragoness and her friend's all stood up and began to rush down the hill toward their one-eyed enemies.

Using her wings to stay far above the scene, Cynder could see that her friends were now splitting up, slowly moving around the many cyclops and firing their attacks on the confused creatures. Cynder herself contributed to the assault by swooping down and releasing a chain of lightning on the enemy ranks, electrocuting multiple enemies at once.

The confused cyclops had been taken by surprise. They shuffled around, chasing the individual Skylanders, splitting up the bulk of their forces and making themselves more manageable.

Cynder saw Stealth Elf be surrounded by one group of hatchet-wielding cyclops. The one-eyed creatures raised their weapons and slowly closed in on Stealth Elf. However, the she-elf remained calm, to the point where she closed her eyes and seemed to ignore the cyclops.

This confused the cyclops for a moment, making them scratch their heads and give each other uncertain glances, before shrugging off their uncertainty and resuming their advance on Stealth Elf.

However, Cynder knew a better than the cyclops. She smiled when she saw her friend open her eyes before she moved in the blink of an eye, sending the many enemies arounder sprawling back, even though, to Cynder, it looked like Stealth Elf had remained standing in place as nothing more than a transparent green blur moved around her.

Then, Cynder turned to her other friends. She saw Jet-Vac using his weapon to blast small waves of cyclops away as they tried to approach him, sending them flying away with the gale his vac-gun released.

Meanwhile, Pop Fizz was flinging potions that burst into large clouds of colorful gases at small clusters of enemies, giggling to himself as he ran circles around the one-eyed creatures.

Afterwards, Cynder took a look around for Eruptor. Once she laid eyes on her friend, she couldn't hold back a small chuckle at the sight of the magma Skylander running as fast as his stompy legs would allow as the bulk of the cyclop forces were still chasing him, throwing spears and firing orange laser beams that missed Eruptor by mere inches and caused him to give out frightened yelps.

However, Cynder herself had quite some trouble to deal with. As the cyclops below her finally caught on with what was happening, Cynder saw as the wizard-looking cyclops began to place their magnifying glasses over their eyes and looked up to where Cynder was flying. Then, after a short pause, each of the white-robed cyclops fired a bright orange beam out of their bloodshot eyeball and through their magnifying glasses.

These beams all shot upward at Cynder with alarming speeds, leaving the violet dragoness a very narrow window to react. However, for her, it was enough. Cynder turned herself into a dark, misty outline of herself and just like that, the many laser beams passed harmlessly through her.

After this, Cynder resolidified and dove down at the cyclops. Then, when she was just a few meters away from them, she released a chain of blue lightning that chained through many of the enemies that had attacked her. Then, not losing the momentum of her flight, Cynder used her wings to raise herself back into the sky, where she once again activated her shadow dash and turned into a misty figure, just in time to avoid another volley of orange laser beams aimed at her back.

Cynder was about to swoop down once again to pick off some more enemies, however, she heard something that made her stop in her tracks.

"We need to retreat." Unulus' breathy voice stated. Cynder just barely managed to pick up what he was saying, but, as she turned around to look at the cyclop chieftain she noticed he was speaking to his newly recruited right-hand man, Muno.

"You don't say." Muno responded flatly. "They are gonna follow us through. Should I kill one?" He suggested casually, making Cynder get a bad feeling.

"The old one." Unulus said simply, making Cynder instinctively look over to Jet-Vac. "Don't miss." Unulus added, making Cynder look back at him.

"I never miss." Muno stated, in a mock hurt voice before gripping the two magnifying glasses hanging from his brown belt.

Then, the red-robed cyclops placed both of them in front of his bulging red eye, one in front of the other and promptly turned to face Jet-Vac.

Cynder's heart started racing. She looked over to her friend and saw that the senior Skylander was busy dealing with the many one-eyed enemies trying to attack him to mind the fact he was about to be shot by Muno.

"Jet-Vac!" Cynder shouted at the top of her lungs, trying to get her friend's attention.

To her relief, she succeeded. Jet-Vac stopped fighting for a moment and turned his head toward Cynder. He looked like he was about to say something, but, before any words could escape his mouth, Cynder saw as Jet-Vac was struck by a laser beam.

This one was bright red instead of orange and it collided against Jet-Vac's shoulder, sending the senior Skylander sprawling back to fall over on the isle's grass-covered floor.

"Jet-Vac!" Cynder cried in horror as she saw her fallen friend.

"Jet-Vac!" Stealth Elf's voice cried as well.

Cynder then saw as her elven friend teleported over to Jet-Vac with a burst of green mist. Once Stealth Elf was beside Jet-Vac, she leaned down to try and help.

"Hah! Still got it!" Muno's voice sounded suddenly, apparently pleased with himself.

This made Cynder turn around and face the red-robed cyclop. He was looking over to Jet-Vac's fallen body, arms crossed over his chest and smiling widely.

"That was a terrible shot." Unulus, who was still standing beside him, grumbled. he sounded displeased.

"Wh- _What_!?" Muno asked, sounding genuinely taken back. "Excuuuuse you?" He demanded, giving Unulus an offended look.

"You hit him in the shoulder." Unulus explained. "He was the oldest, the biggest target _and_ he was stationary. And you managed to give him a non-fatal injury."

"Urgh. Everyone's a critic." Muno complained, sounding resentful. "I guess we gotta go now." He picked up, taking a look around.

"Yes. We do." Unulus confirmed. "Everyone!" Unulus roared, calling the attention of all his underlings. "Retreat!" He ordered.

Then, without question, the many smaller cyclops, ceased attacking the other Skylanders and began rushing toward one of the four bridges that connect to the isle. The horde of one-eyed enemies all rushed to the eastern bridge, leaving the Skylanders behind.

"I suppose this means you have a choice to make!" Unulus shouted, fixating his half-open eye on Cynder. Save your friend-" He said, pointing at Jet-Vac. "Or catching me." He said, gesturing at himself and giving Cynder a lazy smile.

That made Cynder clench her fists and bare her teeth. "You aren't even worth our time." She spat. "Go run away you coward, you seem to have a talent for that." She hissed, before turning around and rushing over to her friends, not giving Unulus the chance to say anything back.

"Ufff!" Cynder managed to hear Muno say. "Want some cold water, man? She got you." He asked Unulus sarcastically.

This however, didn't make Cynder turn around. She was focused on her fallen friend. After only a few seconds, Cynder touched down beside Stealth Elf, who was tending to Jet-Vac.

"How is he?" Cynder asked concerned.

"Knocked out." Stealth Elf explained. "But he's breathing." She added, making Cynder sigh with relief.

After this, Cynder took a look at Jet-Vac. The senior Skylander was barely moving and indeed seemed to be knocked out. "We need to get him to the Academy." Cynder said as she looked at the injury on Jet-Vac's shoulder. It was a large black circle that smoldered against the Skylander's armor.

"I agree." Stealth Elf stated. "Unulus and his goons can wait, but we need to help our friend."

"What happened!?" Pop Fizz' voice suddenly asked, sounding surprised and distressed.

Before long, Cynder saw the blue gremlin, accompanied by Eruptor, arrive beside her and Stealth Elf. The tow had grave expressions on their faces as they looked down at their fallen friend.

"Is he going to be okay?" Pop Fizz asked nervously.

"Not if he doesn't get help." Stealth Elf stated. "We need to take him to the Academy."

"But what about the bad guys?" Eruptor asked, pointing at where the One-Eyed Legion had ran off to.

"We took out quite a few of them." Cynder interjected. "They have lost as many troops to us than they gained." She stated as she took a look at the isle the battle had taken place in.

There were several fallen cyclops laying on the floor, defeated. A lot of them groaned in pain and complained loudly about their arms feeling tired.

"Unulus is on the run." Cynder picked up. "He won't be trying anything like this anytime soon."

Eruptor looked a little hesitant. He took a long look at the bridge their enemies had retreated to, before he turned his head and looked at Jet-Vac. He gave his friend a soft, concerned look before letting out a short sigh.

"Well alright." Eruptor conceded. "We'll just have to get them next time." He grumbled.

"Yeah." Cynder agreed, slowly shifting her gaze to her fallen friend. "Next time."

* * *

"So we're going to Skylander Academy?" Camo asked Spyro as the two dragons, accompanied by Drobot flew through the sky.

"Yes, Camo. We are." Spyro confirmed. "If you want to become a Skylander, you'll have to talk to Kaossandra and get your training started." He explained.

"I see." Camo stated. "Who will be training me?" He asked curiously.

Before Spyro could answer, he noticed Camo crossed his fingers and started muttering _c'mon_ rapidly under his breath, as if he was hoping for a specific answer.

This made Spyro smile as he answered. "I will be in charge of your training."

"Yisss!" Camo hissed in joy as he pumped his fist.

"That means." Drobot suddenly interjected. "That we are all going to be a team, aren't we?" He asked.

At that, Spyro came to a sudden realisation. They _were_ going to become a team. It would soon be his job to train these two dragons, to show them what it takes to be a Skylander, to be defender of the realm. Memories of the time he trained Cynder flashed through his mind in a strange comparison. He released the experience was unlike anything he had ever done before, a whole new kind of adventure.

Then, Spyro realized he would now have a chance to go through it with two brand new friends.

"Yes, Drobot." Spyro began, a smile growing on his face. "We are going to be a team."

At that, Spyro saw Drobot and Camo exchange a silent glace.

"Cool!" Camo exclaimed merrily, doing an exited backflip in mid air.

"Am will certainly be looking forward to working with the two of you." Drobot said in a happy voice, smiling pleasantly as he did.

Afterwards, a short silence ensued. All three dragons looked forward to the horizon, each of them deep in thought on the new road that now stretched ahead for them.

However, something interrupted the stoic silence. The sound of three, very hungry stomachs.

"Oh, right." Spyro said, slightly embarrassed as he clenched his gut.

"We haven't eaten anything all day." Drobot began. "We should really get something to eat."

Then, an idea popped into Spyro's mind. "Hey, Camo?" He called. "You couldn't, you know, grow something for us to eat, couldn't you?" He suggested, fondly remembering the rich taste of the fruits the little green dragon had laid out for him and Drobot.

"I _could_." Camo responded. "But there's like a seven-to-thirty chance that whatever I grow is gonna blow up."

"I imagine that blowing up is the more likely outcome?" Drobot guessed.

"Yup." Camo confirmed flatly.

"Alright then." Spyro picked up. "I guess that means we'll have to look for somewhere to eat nearby." He said, panning his head to his sides, searching for a restaurant or a mabu food stand.

"I think there's a flea market nearby." Camo said suddenly, making Spyro come to a stop and turn around toward his friend. "maybe we can get something to eat there!" Camo suggested.

"Well, It's not like we have any other ideas." Spyro conceded. "Do we Drobot?" He asked, turning toward the coppery green dragon.

"No, not really." Drobot said simply. "I've also never been to a flea market." He admitted. "What is it like?" He asked, turning to Camo and giving him an inquisitive look.

"Uhhh… It's alright." Camo responded nervously, glancing to his side.

"Well, It's decided." Spyro began. "The flea market it is. Camo!" Spyro called, drawing the green dragon's attention. "Lead the way, knowledgeable guide." He said dramatically, getting a small snicker out of Drobot.

"Knowledgeable guide…" Camo repeated, looking through Spyro. "Huh, that sounds kind of cool." He said, slowly smiling and refocusing his eyes. "Alright then! Follow me!" He said cheerfully, gesturing at Spyro and Drobot to follow before flying off and leaving the two dragons behind.

"Hey, Camo!" Drobot and Spyro shouted in unison. "Wait up!" They pleaded before flying after Camo, who just kept moving further and further away, far too excited to listen to his friends.

* * *

After a while of chasing Camo through the Skylands, Spyro and his friends arrived at the flea market.

It was rather large and had quite the variety of mabu stands. There were a great many stands, arranged in vertical rows separated by wide walkways through the large, plain island they all stood on. There were a couple of interesting things about the island though. There was a tall, brown cliff that loomed over the flea market, casting a huge shadow over the stands close to it. There were also a couple of strange, white, smooth pillars emerging from the ground. The many strands seemed to have built around them, not paying mind to the ancient architectural remains. If fact, there was a large square platform of similar white stonework, built roughly in the center of the island, also ignored by the many mabu.

The strange stonework gave Spyro a strange vibe, as if this place was once more than just a flea market.

"Well!" Camo suddenly entonated, cutting off Spyro's train of thought. "Here we are!" He said, gesturing at the flea market.

"I suppose we should search for a food stand." Drobot suggested. "There must be at least one in this market." He stated.

"Well, this is a pretty big place." Spyro interjected. "Maybe we should split up, that way we can find food faster. Once we do, we'll just meet there-" He explained and pointed at the white square platform. "And then we can go to the Academy."

"That sounds like a plan." Drobot said. "I'll go check the left rows." He volunteered.

"Oh, I wanna look at the right rows!" Camo expressed, raising his paw to volunteer.

"Well it's not like I'm gonna stop you guys." Spyro chuckled. "Off you go!" He said, giving his friends an encouraging smile.

After this, Camo and Drobot gave Spyro two thumbs up and a friendly nod accordingly before the two of them flew off to their corresponding rows, leaving Spyro by himself.

After taking one last look at the flea market, trying to find a promising stand to begin his search of food, Spyro flew down and landed near one of the many mabu stands. After realizing the stand that had caught his eye, sold ceramics rather than food, Spyro began to walk down the rows of miniature shops.

The wooden structures were very varied in their decoration and their products. There were ceramic shops, woodwork shops, trinket shops, even one or two weapon shops, that sold rusty adventuring gear and only the occasional well-kept sword.

However, even after running through several of these shops, Spyro couldn't find a single food stand. And yet, his stomach was growling, demanding food Spyro couldn't seem to find.

Spyro was about to let out a stressed groan, when something happened and made him react.

"Please, I'm starving." A female voice begged. "I just need a little food."

The voice sounded strangely familiar to Spyro, almost as if he was supposed to know who the person who was speaking. This made him turn his head frantically, searching for where the voice had come from.

Then, Spyro looked to his right and spotted something that called his attention. Gathered around what Spyro could only guess to be a very special market stand, was a large crowd of mabu. The stand itself was decorated more generously than most of the others Spyro had seen in the market. It had elegant red and yellow banners hanging from it's roof as well as much more refined woodwork than the rest of the market stands.

However, Spyro could notice something odd about the crowd surrounding this stand. They all seemed to be standing around something, creating a sort of ring. They all also looked quite angry at someone, complaining loudly and frowning irritatedly.

Spyro then tried to walk over to see what was going on. The crowd of angry mabu was a little difficult to push through, but with a little effort, Spyro was able to squirm his way through most of the crowd, enough to get a look at what was going on.

Spyro's eyes went round from surprise when he saw what the subject of the mabu uproar seemed to be. It was a dragoness, the one that he and his friends had released from Omen's spell. She was facing the large market stand everyone was surrounding, so Spyro couldn't see her face. However, she sounded quite distressed as she spoke.

"Please, anything." The cyan dragoness spoke. "Anything would help."

"I told you already." A voice spoke from the inside of the shop. "I don't serve your kind!" The voice spat.

As the voice spoke, the one it belonged to showed himself. He was a dragon. Red and yellow colors adorned his scales and the thin, sharp horns that curved back from the sides of his head. However, this dragon was unlike any Spyro had seen. His build was long and thin, like a snake's. His arms and legs were far apart and were short in proportion to his body. He also had no wings, something that called Spyro's attention.

However, what really called Spyro's attention was how this dragon had spoken to the cyan dragoness. It made him clench his teeth, almost by reflex. _"I don't serve your kind?"_ Spyro repeated the strange dragon's words in his mind. _"What is that supposed to mean? They are both dragons!"_ He though, outraged.

Spyro was about to try and demand an explanation from the shopkeeper, but he was cut off by a sudden uproar from the mabu crowd. "Come on! You're holding up the line!" Someone shouted. "This is the best food stand in the market! We are all hungry!" Another voice yelled.

In response to this, the cyan dragoness shrinked and lowered her head, overwhelmed by the negativity of the crowd.

And then, to make things worse, the shopkeeper spoke up again. "Listen up sunshine." The shopkeeper began, gesturing at the complaining crowd before crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm not the only one who doesn't want you here."

At that, Spyro started shaking. He couldn't believe this dragon was being so cruel. The fact that, under the unwavering pressure of the mabu crowd, the cyan dragoness couldn't even say anything a back was making him feel even worse.

But then, the shopkeeper leaned his long neck down to level with the cyan dragoness. "So. Why don't you just prattle out of here, sunshine?" He asked wryly.

In response to this, the cyan dragoness lowered her head even lower and used her wings to hide herself, all while the shopkeeper and the crowd showed no pity.

It made fire well up in Spyro's chest. " _Hey_!" He roared loudly, over the mabu crowd and the shopkeeper, who all went silent and turned to look at him.

Spyro must have been looking as angry as he felt, for no one let out a sound after the purple dragon roared.

As Spyro began to push through what was left of the mabu crowd, he was about to speak his mind about to the shopkeeper, something that might not have been very Skylander-ish. However, Spyro was interrupted by the cyan dragoness, who moved suddenly, turning around and facing Spyro.

This made Spyro come to a sudden stop. Spyro and the cyan dragoness met eyes, for a fleeting moment. Spyro hadn't really paid any mind to the dragoness in particula when she was in the Academy, much less focused on her eyes. They were a mixture of deep and clear blue hues. Her scleras were a deep ocean blue and her iris were a clear sky cyan.

However, Spyro also noticed something more important than just what her looked like. He noticed they were watery, showing him that the dragonnes was on the verge of tears.

Spyro's attention the shifted completely from the shopkeeper or the crowd to the dragoness. He wanted to do something, to say something to help the cyan dragoness in front of him. But, nothing came out, not in time.

In an abrupt motion, signaled only by her lifting her head upwards, teh cyan dragoness used her wings to fly off, leaving behind the scene.

"No, w-wait!" Spyro called, following the cyan dragoness with his eyes. He saw that she was headed to the large cliff at the end of the island, not turning back once.

At that, Spyro was left in silence. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, feeling disappointed in himself for not helping the dragoness.

"Well, that was a relief." The shopkeeper's voice sounded, making Spyro open his eyes suddenly. "Thank you purple friend, would you like something on the house as gratitude?" The shopkeeper asked.

"Oh man, lucky you." A mabu from the crowd began. "This guys sells the best steaks in this market!" The mabu said, pointing at the shopkeeper.

"Best I can do is one full steak." The shopkeeper stated, pulling out something from the underside of his food stand counter. "But believe me,it'll be all you're gonna need." He added as he placed a white plate with a well done steak on the shop counter. The meal was smoking lightly and looked quite savory.

Spyro however, was still furious. It took all his willpower in order to force himself to walk over to the food stand's counter and pick up the white plate and stake without saying anything.

Then, Spyro turned around, wanting to be literally anywhere else but here. He raised his wings, about to take off when he heard someone speak.

"Wait!" The shopkeeper called. "You're not actually supposed to keep the plate." He said.

To this, Spyro turned his head back to face the shopkeeper. When he did, Spyro shot a cold glare at him. It must have expressed just how much Spyro disliked the guy, buecause, the red dragon flinched and backed away slightly, a nervous look now on his face.

After making his intent clear, Spyro couldn't bring himself to waste anymore time with the shopkeeper. With a strong motion of his wings and the plate of steak in hand, Spyro took off, rising to the sky and leaving the flea market below him. After this Spyro turned toward the tall cliff, to where he had seen the cyan dragoness run off to.

It took Spyro a couple of moments to get to the cliff, for he was rather far away. And making sure he didn't accidental drop the steak he was carrying also contributed to slowing him down slightly as well.

However, Spyro soon landed on the grass-covered edge of the cliff where he took a look around, searching the area for the cyan dragoness.

The top of the cliff, before the slow slope down and the sudden drop behind Spyro, was a rather peaceful area. There were grey, mossy rocks and a couple of trees around, their green leaves rustled in the cool wind that passed by. Spyro felt slightly relaxed being here, the scene was quite serene.

However, the meal he was holding made Spyro remembered he had something to do up here. He Shook his head and brought himself back to focus. Then, he started walking around, searching for a sign of the cyan dragoness. Spyro looked to his sides and behind the trees in the area, but there was no trace, no sign of any kind that the cyan dragoness was anywhere around.

At this, Spyro made his way back to the centre of the cliff and let out a defeated sigh, letting his wings droop down to his sides. _"Where could she have gone?"_ Spyro wondered as he placed the plate and steak down on a flat rock beside him.

Then, Spyro felt a tiny, cold thing land on the top of his head. It felt like a drop of rain, something Spyro found quite odd, since there were no dark clouds nearby. However, when Spyro lifted his head and looked up, he admitted he was in need of correction.

There was one dark cloud on the sky. A single tuff of grey wool, standing out naturally from the clear whites and blues on the sky. As another miniscule drop of rain fell between his eyes, Spyro felt like there might be a reason for this particular cloud to be acting up.

Using his wings, Spyro boosted himself off the ground, but, he moved slowly, beating his wings gently. Carefully, Spyro rose up to the dark cloud, hoping he was right about his guess. When he was hovering above the dark cloud, Spyro barely managed to resist an urge to gasp.

He saw the cyan dragoness, curled up tightly on the surface of the cloud, as if was a fluffy bed. Her eyes were shut closed, almost as if she was trying to keep the tears that were slowly streaming down her cheeks from coming out. The pained frown on her face and the stillness of her body made her look like she was asleep and having a nightmare.

Spyro then tried to get closer, seeing as the cloud the cyan dragoness was resting on was quite large. However, when Spyro stopped moving his wings to touch down on the dark cloud, he felt himself fall. He wasn't held up by the cloud like the cyan dragoness, instead, he plummeted down back to the floor, which made him let out a surprised shriek and a pained groan as he crashed, headfirst on the ground.

Spyro's scales absorbed most of the impact, but he still had a sore spot on his head which he took one of his paws to. Then, Spyro slowly looked up to see if he had disturbed the cyan dragoness.

When he did, Spyro saw the dragoness' head peeking down at him from the edge of the dark cloud, not moving or saying a word, looking quite tense. Her long, pointy ears were pressed down against her head. Spyro also noticed she had wiped away her tears.

At this, Spyro forced himself to think back, to remember. As he raced through the memories of his mind, he recalled the cyan dragoness' name. "Whirlwind?" He called, making her flich slightly.

Spyro then tried thinking of a good way to start a conversation, to avoid the dragoness from leaving abruptly. "H-Hello!" He started up. "I'm Spyro. Remember me? From the Academy?" He asked, trying to jog her memory.

It seemed to work, for she seemed to relax slightly.

"I, uh…" Spyro started up, looking around, searching for the stake he had brought. Once he found it, on the flat grey rock, he picked it up slowly. "I heard you say you were hungry." He said, carefully lifting the plate up at Whirlwind.

She looked take back by this, since her eyes went round and her ears shot up for about a second. However, she went back to looking uncertain soon enough.

But Spyro wasn't about to give up. "Do you want to talk?" He asked, lowering the plate before continuing. "I won't hurt you if that's what you're afraid of." Spyro stated. "I just want to help."

Once again, Whirlwind expressed surprise at Spyro's words. She looked hesitant, glancing away from Spyro and taking a look around, as if to make sure of something. But then, to Spyro's pleasant surprise, Whirlwind moved, slowly flying down from her cloud, which returned to its natural white color when she did, something that caught Spyro's eye.

However, Spyro soon focused on Whirlwind, who was now positioning herself beside Spyro, keeping a weary distance.

"Do you like steak?" Spyro asked tentatively. "You can have it if you want." He said, gesturing at the plate.

At this, Whirlwind took a look at the steak, then at Spyro and then back at the stake. She then walked over and took the brown meat with both paws before taking a large bite off, chewing it a couple of times before taking another bite.

" _Man, she really was hungry."_ Spyro thought to himself as he witnessed Whirlwind eat the entire steak in less than a minute.

After she was done eating. Whirlwind took a small pause, as if to allow her meal to properly settle down in her stomach. Then she turned her head away from Spyro. "Th-Thank you." She said softly.

"Don't mention it." Spyro responded with a smile.

"But... why are you helping me?" Whirlwind asked, covering her face with one of her wings, something that made Spyro worry.

"What else should I have done?" He asked. "Treat you like that shopkeeper? Why would I do that?"

At this, Whirlwind, slightly lowered her wing, allowing Spyro to see her eye. "It… It doesn't bother you?" She asked in almost baffled tone.

"What doesn't bother me?" Spyro asked confused. "I don't see anything off about you." He stated, taking a slow look at the dragoness.

He found the cyan fur to be a strange alternative to dragon scales, and although the single smooth horn was something Spyro had never seen before, he had seen stranger appendages on Drobot and Camo. He was also slightly ashamed to admit he found Whirlwind's long ears a little funny, but beyond that, there was nothing Spyro could find to be worth shuning Whirlwind like that shopkeeper did.

Whirlwind however, seemed to be surprised by Spyro's response. She just stared at him in silence, her long ears standing on point.

"Whirlwind, there isn't anything about you that should allow people to treat you like that." Spyro stated, meaning every word.

At that, Whirlwind reacted, so fast Spyro though it was almost instinctive. She gripped her white horn, covering it with her paws as her ears lowered once again.

"You… mean that?" She asked, turning her head away from Spyro.

"I do." Spyro responded quickly.

At that, Whirlwind slowly let go of her horn and turned her head back at Spyro. She gave him a wide eyes look while staying silent. Then, Whirlwind looked like she was about to say something, but, before she could a thunderous sound suddenly boomed through the air, interrupting her and making both her and Spyro turn around in search of it's source..

several of the stands on the east side of the flea market were on fire, and the screams of frightened mabu could be heard in the distance.

However, Spyro soon realized there was yet another reason for him to worry. _"Drobot and Camo."_ He remembered suddenly as he sprung to his feet, ready to fly off and look for his friends.

But before he did, Spyro turned around and spoke to Whirlwind in a hurried voice. "Look, I have to go, my friends might be in danger." He explained. "Don't get hurt." He suggested before taking flight once again.

Then, once in the air, Spyro rushed over to where the fires were burning. As he approached the scene, intense heat started to make the air thick, black smoke making it even worse. But then, Spyro saw something, or someone approach him quickly, flying up to meet him. After they got close enough, Spyro made out who they were.

"Spyro!" Camo called out, a distressed look on his face. "Spyro!" He called again.

"Camo! What happened?" Spyro asked, coming to a stop midair to get an explanation from Camo. "What's going on?"

As a response, Camo began speaking so fast Spyro could make out what he was saying, the fact the little green dragon was gesturing wildly at the scene, helped Spyro decypher very little.

"Camo, slow down!" Spyro shouted, making his friend abruptly stop speaking. "What happened?" He asked again.

"Cyclops are raiding!" Camo yelled, pointing at the area that was on fire. "A lot of them! And they have this really scary, skeleton-looking guy leading them!" He added.

At that, Spyro's eye went round. "Unulus is here!?" He shouted. "Camo, where's Drobot!?"

"He's down there trying to help the mabu!" Camo explained.

"C'mon then we can't leave him alone down there!" Spyro stated. "You guys get the mabu out of here, I'll try to buy you some time with Unulus!"

"Alright, just be carefull!" Camo said. "There's a lot going on down there!" He warned before diving down to help the mabu civilians evacuate the scene.

Then, not wasting any time, Spyro flew directly to the blazing area. As he got closer, he managed to see many familiar cyclops raiding nearby shops, stealing whole crates of food, weapons and even a couple of ceramic items.

However, Spyro was too busy to be distracted by grunts. He looked around for Drobot or Unulus, panning his head to his sides, searching desperately.

But then, Spyro felt an impact collide against his left side. It was powerful and it knocked the wind out of him, which was no good for his flying.

Then, Spyro heard a voice, a voice he didn't recognize. "Hah! I shot one down! Are you proud of me, new boss?" The voice asked someone else.

Before he could listen to anything else, Spyro plummeted down, crashing through the roof of one of the market stands. After the crash, Spyro felt dizzy. He shook his head violently, forcing himself to focus. After a moment, Spyro got a hang of his senses and got on his feet. He noticed that the stand he had crashed into was completely empty, probably looted by the cyclops. So, getting back into the swing of things, Spyro leapt out of the stand, landing in the middle of the walkway between stands.

Then Spyro heard the same voice, the one he heard as he was falling through the air. "Well! Who would have thought that running away from Skylanders could have led us to such treasures?" The voice asked jokingly.

"This is a temporary fix." Another voice said. This one was breathy and slow, the face of the one it belonged to, immediately popped into Spyro's head. "We need more troops, not random trinkets."

At that, Spyro turned his head to his left. There, in the middle of the walkway, Spyro saw the slender, gangly figure of Unulus. However, he noticed that the cyclop seemed to be dragging something behind him. He also had company, a smaller cyclop who had a red and gold robe and who was wielding two large magnifying glasses.

"Besides we seem to constantly be getting in-" Unulus picked up, taking a small pause and lifting what he was dragging behind him. "Unnecessary skirmishes." He said disdainfully as he held none other than Drobot, holding him up by one of his wings.

Spyro noticed that Drobot's blue mechanical appendages were battered and had yellows sparks coming out of their joints. He also noticed that the part of Drobot's wing Unulus was gripping, was crumpled in beneath the cyclop's sharp gauntlet. But what made Spyro feel really concerned, was that Drobot wasn't moving.

"Drobot!" Spyro called, dread clawing at his heart at the sight of his unconscious friend.

This however, did little more than alert the two cyclops about Spyro's presence.

"Eyyyy!" The red-robed cyclop exclaimed. "It's that guy you beat up!" He said, pointing at Spyro with one of his magnifying glasses.

"Spyro!" Unulus shouted, letting go of Drobot and letting him flop on the ground. "It has been a while. I assume you are here to pick a fight?" He guessed in a bored tone.

"You asume right pal!" Spyro responded, getting into battle pose. "This isn't going to go like last time!" He declared, keeping his eyes on Unulus, ready for the cyclop to make a move.

"You are right." Unulus agreed. "This won't be like last time. _Because_ -" He entonated as he stretched out his arm. "This time, you aren't going t-"

Before he could finish his statement, Unulus was interrupted by something that pounce onto his back, actually knoching the gangly cyclop to the ground chest down.

As Unulus fell down, Spyro was able to see what had brought down the slender cyclop. When he managed to get a good look in, Spyro let out an astonished gasp.

He had a bruised eye, a great deal of wounds and his feathers were ruffled and covered in dark soot, but the strange, bird-like dragon, Spyro remembered as Sunburn, still managed to pin Unulus down.

"You…" Sunburn began, breathing hard as he put visible effort at keeping the cyclop chiftian down. "You attack innocent people, steal their belongings and expect me to do nothing!?" He demanded angrily.

Instead of answering. Unulus shouted someone's name. "Muno!" He called, his voice sounding more exasperated than alarmed.

"Yeah. yeah, yeah." The red-robed cyclop Spyro guessed was called Muno, repeated quickly, putting both of his magnifying glasses in front of his bloodshot eye. Then, a bright red beam shoto out of Muno's eye, colliding with Sunburn' side, knocking the dragon off Unulus' back.

"Sunburn!" Spyro shouted as he saw the red dragon fall on his side, hissing in pain.

"So that's his name?" Unulus' voice suddenly spoke up. "He's a persistent one, that's the third time we've beaten him up today." He explained, turning to Sunburn just as he began trying to get on his feet. "He seems incapable of learning his lesson!" Unulus bellowed as he threw a ferocious kick at Sunburn's injured side, knocking the red dragon back down.

"That's enough!" Spyro shouted, drawing Unulus and Muno's attention, effectively distracting them from Drobot and Sunburn.

After this, Spyro shot a volley of fireballs in quick succession. This made the two cyclops then tried dodging the projectiles. However, Spyro intended for this to happen. As the two cyclops tried dodging the projectiles, they let themselves become vulnerable, allowing Spyro to lower his head and charge at them.

As orange flames sparked on his horns, Spyro charged directly at Muno, who had just finished avoiding Spyro's projectiles.

"Hah, you have terrib-" Muno's insult was cut off abruptly as Spyro rammed his head into the cyclop's chest.

The impact was so powerful, it sent the red-robed cyclop sprawling back several feet, lying chest-up and motionless as he fell down.

" _That's one down."_ Spyro thought to himself, pleased as he noticed Muno stayed down after he tackled him.

However, as Spyro turned around, his relief was cut short as he saw a sharp metal gauntlet swing down on him. Spyro yelped in surprise as he used his wings to boost himself backwards to avoid Unulus' incoming strike.

As the gangly cyclop's swing came down and missed Spyro, it collided with the walkway, cracking the pavement under its might. But then, Spyro saw Unulus swing at him with his other hand.

In response to this, Spyro tried backing away further. However, he made a mistake. Spyro underestimated the cyclop's reach. So, using the disproportionate length of his arm, Unulus managed to swing down his sharp gauntlet on Spyro, drawing three lines of pain through the dragon's chest.

After this, Spyro hissed in pain. His scales protected him from any actual damage, but the cyclop's strike had still been painful. Afterwards, Spyro used his wings to boost himself up, out of Unulus' reach.

Once he was high enough, Spyro looked down. He saw Unulus getting up, lifting his head and fixating his dark pink eye on him. He clenched his fists and held himself in place, as if he was anticipating Spyro's next move.

Spyro then through up something, something that might help him win the fight, he smiled smugly as he came up with the idea. So, not wasting any time, Spyro rose up, a little higher, before sawing his head back and diving down at Unulus.

As Spyro descended, he shot a volley of fireballs downward. However, there projectiles were not aimed at the cyclop, as they landed in a circle around him. Unulus seemed confused by this, for when he attempted to dodge one of Spyro's fireballs, he found the action unnecessary and in fact, distracting.

Spyro noticed that Unulus, usually half-opened eye went round with realisation. But it was too late. As the cyclop chieftain, lifted his head, he only managed to see Spyro's lowered head, coming down on him.

In a mighty headbutt, Spyro crashed down on unulus, creating an impact so powerful, a miniature shockwave expanded from the collision.

After the impact, Spyro used his wings to land safely, entering a defensive stance and keeping his eyes on Unulus. Who had remained quite stiff, since Spyro headbutted him.

However, after a few seconds, Unulus, fell to his knees, then the cyclops began to lean forward only to slump chest-down on the walkway, motionless.

At this, Spyro let out a relieved sigh. "That was quite the rematch, huh?" Spyro asked after the fire and smoke nearby made Spyro let out a harsh cough as he looked down at his fallen enemy.

After receiving no response, Spyro got to his feet, remembering he had to tend to Drobot and Sunburn. He remembered that both of them looked very beaten up.

"Don't. Move." A voice commanded. "Or I'll fry your dragon buddy." The voice threatened, making Spyro's heart race.

At that, Spyro slowly turned around, trying to see what was happening. When he did, Spyro was faced with a distressing scene. He saw the red-robed cyclop Muno, holding one of his magnifying glasses over Sunburn's head.

Spyro noticed that the cyclop was breathing unevenly and was clutching his chest tightly with his free hand, however he seemed to have enough strength to do what he threatened.

"Now." Muno started up. "I'm no leader, I actually suck at the whole leadership deal." He stated. "So, if the One-Eyed Legion is gonna thrive, I'll be needing the bag of bones back." He said, gesturing at Unulus.

Spyro looked back at the fallen cyclop. Could he really afford to let him go? After he'd gotten so close to beating him already?

"So!" Muno picked up, making Spyro focus on him. "I propose a deal. You give me _my_ friend back, and I give you _your_ friend back, hmm?" He proposed, taking a pause to wait for Spyro's answer.

"Don't do it…" A weak voice said. Spyro noticed that it was Sunburn speaking. He had his eyes half-open, but fixed on Spyro. "Don't …let them get away…because of me." He pleaded.

"Well, ain't cha brave?" Muno spat mockingly at Sunburn.

Spyro analized the situation in his head. One though after another shot through his mind, giving him a growing headache. Spyro looked at Unulus' fallen body, then at Sunburn and Muno and then at the ground beneath him, clenching his fists.

But, then Spyro came to a decision. He lifted his head and looked at Sunburn. "I'm sorry." He began. "I just can't let you die, not this way." He stated.

This made Sunburn's eyes go round from surprise. "No… wait!" He yelled desperately. "Look out!" He warned.

Before he could understand what was going on, Spyro felt a heavy blow to the back of his head. The surprise attack, disoriented Spyro, making him slump down to the ground.

Then, Spyro felt a heavy iron boot press against the top of his head, applying painful pressure. "This has been a most tiresome day." A breathy, dreadfully familiar voice sighed. "But I think it's time we ended this."

Spyro couldn't even move his head to look at Unulus. The cyclop, who apparently recuperated from Spyro's headbutt, had the purple dragon's head completely immobilized. Spyro tried getting up, but it was no use, he couldn't even lift himself up an inch.

"Alright, new boss." Muno picked up suddenly. "Should we get rid of them?" He asked maliciously.

"We can't get rid of this one." Unulus said, adding a little more pressure on Spyro's head, making him groan in pain. "Impenetrable scales apparently. However, you are more than welcome to execute his friends." Unulus said coldly.

" _No_!" Spyro shouted suddenly. "Please, don't hurt them! Take me instead!" He pleaded.

"What are you doing!?" Sunburn suddenly shouted. "Why are you giving yourself up!?"

"Yes." Unulus began suspiciously. "What are you playing at?" He questioned.

"If you let them go." Spyro picked up. "I'll let you take me instead. I can be a hostage, buy you some time with the Skylanders."

"Why are you doing this!?" Sunburn demanded, giving Spyro an angry yet confused look. "You don't even know me!"

"I think I know you a little better than you're giving me credit for buddy." Spyro responded with a weak smile, making Sunburn fall silent. "Even if I didn't know you, what kind of Skylander would I be if I didn't save people when I had the chance?"

At that, all the anger in Sunburn's eyes faded. This, coupled with the dragon's mouth hanging half-open made him express complete surprise at Spyro's insistence on saving him and Drobot.

"Even now." Unulus began suddenly. "You surprise me, purple dragon. You are an honorable warrior, using you as leverage will shame me greatly." He stated, relieving a little of the pressure on Spyro's head.

"Soooo." Muno interrupted suddenly. "We're taking the purple one and letting the rest go, right?" He asked, as if to confirm the plan.

"Yes. That's the idea." Unulus responded flatly, before lifting his boot off Spyro's head and quickly grabbing the back of his neck with one of his gauntlets. Then, Spyro felt himself be picked up, lifted off the ground by Unulus. "I believe our brethren have already take most of the valuables in this part of the market?" Unulus asked Muno.

"I would guess so." Muno responded. "I'd be a shame for all this cool stuff to just burn up." He said, gesturing at the burning market stands.

"On that, we agree." Unulus stated. "In any case. We best be leaving." He said, keeping a tight grip on Spyro's neck as he began to take slow steps to leave the scene.

However, something happened that took Spyro by surprise. Spyro felt Unulus let him go, allowing him to fall to the ground and turn around to see the gangly cyclop stumble forward. Apparently someone had hit him with something. Before Spyro could question what had attacked Unulus, he saw a miniature rainbow, no thicker than a school ruler, collide against Unulus' back, making the cyclop fall to his knees.

"Woah!" Spyro exclaimed at the sight. Then, He turned around, in the direction the rainbow beam had come from.

Spyro was speechless when he saw Whirlwind, white horn glowing radiantly, swoop down into the scene, landing in a majestic stance behind Spyro.

"Heck yeah!" Spyro cheered. "That was awesome!"

At this praise, Whirlwind, smiled nervously, shrinking from her previous stance.

"Oh, come on!" Muno suddenly. "Four dragons on two cyclops? Doesn't that seem a little unfair!?"

"It's gonna get even more unfair, dude!" A squeaky voice shouted suddenly.

Then, before he could react, Muno was hit square in the face by a spiky yellow orb, which exploded in a yellow splatter, knocking the red-robed cyclop off his balance and effectively getting him off Sunburn.

"Argh! My eye!" Muno screamed in agony.

Afterwards, Spyro saw as Camo landed beside him, already in battle pose, yet smiling broadly, as if he was readily expecting a fight.

"I guess that means it's five on two now." Spyro said, giving Camo a friendly nudge, happy to have his friend beside him.

"That's enough!" Unulus bellowed, quickly getting on his feet, surprising Spyro and his fellow dragons. "Retreat!" He ordered.

"Dramatic exit?" Muno asked, rubbing his eye, slowly recuperating.

"Dramatic exit." Unulus confirmed.

At that, both cyclops broke into a sprint, leaving the dragons behind, not looking back at the dragons.

"Hey! You can't just run away!" Camo shouted, before moving to chase the two cyclops.

However, Spyro held him in place, puting one of his paws in front of him. "Let them go, we have to help the others." Spyro said.

Camo then took a look at Sunburn and Drobot. Both dragons were knocked out and there was a fire quickly spreading nearby. All of this, made it easy for Camo to agree. "Alright, but what are we going to do? It's not like any of us can make it rain to put out the fire."

"Maybe…" A shaky voice interjected. "Maybe I can help." At that, Spyro turned around to see Whirlwind, standing confidently. "I think I can put out most of the fire." She stated. "I just need time to focus."

"We've got you covered." Spyro stated, placing his paw on Whirlwind's shoulder. "You can do it." He said, giving her a firm nod and smile.

At this, Whirlwind's eyes went round and her ears shot up, taken back yet again. But, before long, the dragoness composed herself and returned Spyro's nod. Then, after Spyro backed away, Whirlwind closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a brief pause, she raised her wings and puffed out her chest. Then, her horn began to glow brightly with radiant white light.

Then, Spyro felt as a strong wind began to blow. It came from behind Whirlwind and was actually so strong, Spyro needed to cover his face with one of his wings since the wind was actually stinging his eyes.

The powerful gale continued to blow for a while, but before long, Whirlwind let out an exhausted breath, losing her composure as her raised wings and drooped down.

"Woah, are you alright?" Spyro asked in concern as he saw Whirlwind's strained expression.

"I'm alright." Whirlwind responded weakly. "Weather magic is really taxing, but-" She paused and pointed behind Spyro. "It was worth it."

At that, Spyro turned around to where Whirlwind was pointing. When he did, Spyro couldn't help but feel surprised. Where there were flames and dark smoke, there was now nothing but slowly fading embers and drifting ashes. Most of the market stands remained on foot, but they were severely burned and completely ransacked by the One-Eyed Legion, however, most of the flea market had remained intact.

"Well, that was something else." Spyro said, admittedly impressed by the cyan dragoness' display.

"Yeah, it was." Camo agreed, giving the scene Spyro was looking at a wide-eyed look as he stood, dumbfounded beside Spyro.

However, Spyro was pulled out of his admiration by a low groan, strained and dragged out. At this, Spyro looked down and to his right to see Sunburn struggling to get on his feet.

Almost by reflex, Spyro walked over to the bird-like dragon and tried to help him up. "Can you walk? You look really beaten up." Spyro said as he stretched out one of his paws for Sunburn to take.

"Don't worry about me." Sunburn said with a groan before managing to get on his feet. "Worry about your friend." He suggested, gesturing with his chin at someone behind Spyro.

At that, Spyro turned around to see Drobot, still laying down motionless where Unulus had dropped him prior to their battle. This made dread claw at Spyro's heart. The purple dragon rushed hurriedly to his fallen friend.

"Drobot, are you alright!?" Spyro asked desperately as he reached his friend's side.

The circular lenses on the coppery green dragon's helmet were cracked and were not emitting the faint yellow light they usually did, apparently, they were damaged like the rest of the metallic appendages he had equipped.

"Is he alright?" Camo asked worriedly as he walked up to Drobot's side.

"Drobot?" Spyro called again in a softer, more worried voice.

There was a pause where silence hung over the dragons. But, before too long, the circular lenses on Drobot's helmet flickered back on, glowing a faint yellow. "Here." Drobot's mildly synthesised voice responded weakly.

"Oh man!" Camo exclaimed in relife. "I thought you were a goner!" He admitted, wiping non-existing sweat off his brow.

"You took a beating out there, man" Spyro said. "You shouldn't have faced off against Unulus." He stated, regretting not having warned his friend about the one-eyed villian.

"It's alright." Drobot responded. "I knew my probability if success in a fight was low, I just tried to buy some of the civilians some time." He explained, suddenly hissing sharply and gripping his side, which seemed to be wounded.

"Well, you did great." Spyro congratulated his friend. "Just rest up a while." He added, giving Drobot a soft pat on the shoulder.

"Yessir." Drobot responded with a weak chuckle, before the lights on his helmet flickered out again.

"Camo?" Spyro called, looking at his friend. "Look after him will you?"

"Yessir!" Camo said firmly, standing on his hind legs and saluting Spyro before turning to face Drobot.

" _I'm not sure about how I feel about the whole_ sir _, thing."_ Spyro thought to himself. However, Spyro had more important thoughts to tend to. He turned around, leaving Camo and Drobot by themselves and walked towards Whirlwind and Sunburn, who had remained in their places, apparently waiting patiently for Spyro.

"Well, that was quite the show wasn't it?" Spyro started up casually. "What are you guys going to do now?" He asked in a slightly more serious tone. "You all said you had things to do." He stated, remembering that both dragons had refused to stay in the Academy.

"I have nowhere to go." Sunburn stated suddenly. "I refuse your offer to stay at your Academy that day for two reasons." He explained. "The first, was that I was ashamed. I had attacked you and your friends after you all helped me and I almost killed that magma elemental."

"Oh, don't worry." Spyro began, recalling how Sunburn had seared Eruptor's head off. "Eruptor doesn't hold grudges." He said reassuringly, fully aware that Eruptor did in fact, hold grudges.

"The second reason." Sunburn picked up. "Is that I have a rather, _personal_ duty to fulfill." He stated, leaving his sentence at that, subtlety telling Spyro that it was a bit of a touchy subject.

Because of this, Spyro found it best not to press the bird-like dragon. Instead, he waited to see if he had anything else to say. And luckily for Spyro, he did.

"Today, I found a large gang of cyclops raiding this place." Sunburn began explaining. "They started attacking people and stealing their belongings. I would have never been able to live with myself if I had done nothing." Sunburn stated, clenching his yellow fists on the ground, drawing deep likes were his claws clenched. "But that monster, Unulus. He was much stronger than any foe I've faced. I wasn't ready for him and if it had not been for _you_ -" He said, pointing at Spyro. "I would certainly have met my demise today."

"R-Really?" Spyro asked, taken back a bit.

"Yes." Sunburn confirmed. "As far as I am concerned-" He picked up, lowering his head in a small bow. "I owe you my life."

" _Really_!?" Spyro exclaimed, now completely taken back, actually making Sunburn flinch in surprise. "Uhhh, sure? I mean if you want to?" Spyro stammered, unsure of what to do now.

"Make him a Skylander!" Camo's squeaky voice shouted from behind Spyro.

"What!?" Spyro yelled back, turning around to the little green dragon, who was still looking over Drobot. "I can't just _make_ some become a Skylander!"

"Why not?" Camo asked simply. "He owes you his life." He stated.

"That _is_ true." Drobot said weakly, lifting his arm and pointing upwards, as if he was making a point, before dropping his arm down again.

Spyro then turned around about to ensure Sunburn that this was all not necessary. However, when Spyro turned around, he saw Sunburn looking at the distance, smiling a little smile.

"A Skylander, huh?" He whispered. "A hero who protects the realm from evil?" He said in a slightly louder tone. "I think… I think I'd like that." He stated, puffing out his chest slightly.

"Are you sure?" Spyro asked, mildly concerned. "Cuz, for real, you don't have to if you don't want to." He stated.

At that, Sunburn turned his head to Spyro and looked at him with his fiery, yellow and orange eyes. "Spyro. Allow me to set my debt by becoming a Skylander." He said, unflinching, not stuttering once.

Spyro was speechless, staring back at Sunburn blankly. He genuinely had no idea of how to respond to Sunburn's sudden demand to become a Skylander. "Sure?" He managed to get out awkwardly.

"Excellent." Sunburn exclaimed energetically. "Where do I sign?" He asked eagerly.

"At the Academy?" Spyro responded awkwardly.

"Very well, then." Sunburn picked up. "I suppose we'll need to treat your friend's wounds before we leave." He said, looking over to Drobot a slight shade of worry manifesting across his face.

"Yeah, that would probably be best." Spyro agreed, looking over to his friend.

"I'll go see if there is some sort of medicine stand somewhere nearby." Sunburn stated. "I am a little wounded-" He said as he very slowly stretched out one of his wings, which was covered in bruised and had ruffled feathers. "So I might take a while."

"We can wait." Spyro said with a small smile. "Take your time."

At that, Sunburn gave Spyro a quick nod before he started walking away, making his way to the intact side of the flea market and leaving Spyro alone with the rest of the dragons.

After this, Spyro turned to look at Whirlwind, who had remained silent throughout Spyro's exchange with Sunburn. However, the dragoness was fidgety, playing with her paws and glancing around.

"Whirlwind?" Spyro called softly, making the cyan dragoness focus on him. "You were awesome today." He said, remembering Whirlwind's feats.

This made Whirlwind advert Spyro's gaze, but smile innocently. "You… You think so?"

"You bet! I've never seen someone use weather magic so powerful." Spyro exclaimed. "Actually, if it hadn't been for you and Camo, I don't think we would all have made it out in one piece." Spyro admitted. "Actually, now that I think about it…" Spyro paused. "You'd make a good Skylander too!"

"Wh-What!?" Whirlwind exclaimed, giving Spyro a wide-eyed look. "Y-You think I could be a Skylander?" She asked, as if she herself never even considered the option.

"I do." Spyro confirmed. "You've got some really cool moves! But, more importantly, you are a good person, Whirlwind." Spyro said, giving Whirlwind a warm smile.

After this, Whirlwind stayed frozen, eyes wide, jaw halfway open and long ears down. But then, after a few seconds, Whirlwind shook herself back into focus.

She then gave Spyro a wide, genuinely happy smile before leaning forward and giving him a hug. "Yes, I wanna become a Skylander." She said merrily as she let go of Spyro.

"That's great!" Spyro began. "But, wait. Didn't you say you had to check if your home was alright?" Spyro asked, recalling the dragoness said as much when they first spoke in the Academy. "Come to think of it, where do you live exactly?" Spyro asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

At this, Whirlwind looked away nervously. "It's a far away place." She began ambiguously. "You've probably never heard of it. But, don't worry! I've already checked and it's alright, I don't know what I was worried about. I guess I just freaked out because I was knocked out for so long."

"So that means…" Spyro began, running the situation through his head.

"New Skylanders!" Camo cheered as he tackle-hugged Spyro from behind, nearly making him jump out of his skin.

"Camooo." Spyro groaned as he tried to get the little green dragon off his back, with comically poor results.

This in turn made Whirlwind let out a small giggle at the two dragons antics, which then grew into full laughter, that spread to both Spyro and Camo. The three dragons shared a laugh until Drobot reminded them he was there. "I'm still in pain you guys." He said in a deflated tone.

"Sorry Drobot." Spyro apologised quickly as he finally managed to get Camo off him. "We just need for Sunburn to come back, then we'll get going back to the Academy." He stated. "Then, I can start putting you all on track to becoming Skylanders." Spyro said proudly, looking at Camo and Whirlwind, as well as the new adventures that now lay in wait for all of them.

* * *

Master Eon roamed the Academy common room. His ethereal form floated above the ground in the wide, roofless space in the room. He was holding a blue spray can in one hand. He was also singing, a melow, familair tune as he sprayed the contents of the bottle on his glowing beard.

"Wheeeen you glowing beard - is getting weird. Use Beardspray!" Eon sang as he finished spraying his beard. "For _ghostly_ men." He added with a throaty chuckle as he hid the blue can within his robe.

"Well, someone is looking better." A familiar voice sounded below Eon.

The ethereal portal master looked down to see Kaossandra, making her way to her desk. "You're a lot less see-through now. Been meditation I suppose?" She asked with a small smile as she sat down on her chair.

"Yes, actually." Eon confirmed in a slightly proud tone. "I'm still a very long ways from restoring my physical form, but…" He paused as he descended to level with Kaossandra. "I now have more, _influence_ on things, like, I'm not just a projection any more."

"Can you use magic?" Kaossandra asked with a serious expression.

"Nothing that would be extraordinarily useful." Eon began, deflating slightly. "However, I believe that with enough time, I can- Ahhh!" Eon's voice suddenly trialed off by a sudden exclamation of pain.

The elder portal master hissed in pain as he gripped his right cheek, from which the sudden stab of pain had come from.

"Eon? What happened?" Kaossandra asked in concern, getting up from her seat.

"I don't know." Eon said, rubbing his still stinging cheek. "I think something happened to my- Ahhh!" Eon cried again as a new stab of pain came, this time from his other cheek, which he grasped tightly as well.

"Eon!" Kaossandra cried, sounding genuinely concerned.

With his eyes closed and a furrowed brow, Eon managed to get through the initial wave of pain, after which, the stinging areas on his cheeks began to simmer down enough to allow him to take his hands off them.

However, as Eon opened his eyes and looked at his hands, he felt his heart stop for a moment. On his hands, there were long, thin strands of silver hairs.

"Your beard…" Kaossandra began slowly, a horrified look on her face. "It hasn't done that since-"

"Since _them_." Eon finished for her.

At that, both portal masters shared a moment of dreadful silence, before Kaossandra spoke up.

"Eon, you know what this means." She said, giving Eon a very worried look. "One of them is ba-"

"No." Eon interrupted suddenly. "No, no, they can't be back. No one could have survived all they went through, not even them." He said, trying to reassure himself.

However, Kaossandra just shook her head slowly. "You know they could." She said, letting out a mirthless laugh. "Those monsters could survive anything."

"Not the Outlands!" Eon howled suddenly, making Kaossandra flich slightly. "Not even they could survive that long in the Outlands. This must be something else." He said with a strange sense of finality.

"Well whatever it is." Kaossandra picked up. "It's bad, _really_ bad."

Eon then turned around, taking a look out one of the windows of the common room, searching for someone far away, further away than he could see.

"Spyro." Eon began in a worried whisper. "Be carefull."

* * *

 _Author's notes_

 _Heya guys. Sorry for taking so long to update, I had a lot of other stuff to sort out. But don't worry, there are definetly more chapters coming, so keep your eyes open!_

 _-I still don't own Skylanders Academy_

 _-Sunburn and Whirlwind, two new alies, and two new Skylanders?_

 _-Evil looms in the horizon, and the air slowly grows colder around our heros..._


	5. Chapter 5

**Skylanders Academy: Song of the Hunt**

by andresponceb2002

 **Chapter 5) The Great Games**

Spyro sat on his hind legs as he watched in silence as Whirlwind held Sunburn's wounded wing in her paws. She had her eyes closed as he horn seeped out a bright, thin rainbow, which connected to Sunburn's body.

As the rainbow's light passed over Sunburn's body, his wounds faded almost immediately, making Sunburn let out relieved sighs as it did.

"Thank you Whirlwind," Sunburn said as he backed away from the cyan dragoness to stretch his previously wounded wing out. "I almost can't feel a thing anymore." He stated contently.

"You're welcome." Whirlwind responded with a smile as her horn stopped glowing.

"So your horn thingy," Camo suddenly interjected. "Can let you control the weather _and_ heal stuff _and_ fire lasers!?" He asked, giving Whirlwind an unblinking stare.

This made the dragoness visibly uncomfortable. "Y-Yes, pretty much." She responded with a nervous giggle.

Camo remained silent and unblinking. However, his eyes shifted from Whirlwind to focus solely on her horn. "Can I touch it?" Camo asked in an entranced voice as he very slowly began to stretch out his paw to touch Whirlwind's horn.

"I-I'd prefer if you didn't" Whirlwind responded, hiding her horn and part of her face with one of her wings.

However, Camo continued slowly reaching closer, apparently completely entranced. This made Spyro swat away Camo's paw with his own in a quick motion.

"Ow! Hey!" Camo exclaimed as he rubbed his swatted paw and took a couple of steps back.

Spyro didn't find it necessary to explain to Camo why he did what he did. Instead, he turned to Drobot, who was laying down, belly down with his eyes closed behind the four other dragons.

The wounds previously on the coppery dragon's skin, we nowhere to be seen, for Whirlwind had also healed him with her horn's magic. However, Spyro noticed that Drobot's many metallic appendages were still heavily damaged. Apparently Whirlwind's healing didn't apply to machinery.

"Well, I must say," Sunburn spoke up. "It's rather satisfying to see that my long trip to find medicine was so useful." He said in a deflated tone, reminding Spyro the red dragon had volunteered to find medicine for Drobot.

"It was a nice thing for you to do." Spyro interjected. "None of us knew Whirlwind had healing magic." He stated, giving his new red friend a supportive smile.

"I know, I'm just kidding." Sunburn said with a small chuckle. "In any case, what are we going to do now? I don't believe your friend can come with us to the Academy as he is now." He said, turning to Drobot, giving him a worried look.

"Yeah. As we are now, the trip to the Academy would take quite a while, even if all of us could fly." Spyro stated, taking one of his paws to his chin as he started to think of something to do.

"We could go to my home." Drobot's synthesised voice sounded suddenly.

"What?" Spyro turned around to look at his friend. "We could?"

"Yes. My home is not far away from here actually." Drobot stated, slowly getting up from the ground, letting out a small, yet strained groan. "It's a little bit to the south from here."

"The south?" Sunburn repeated. "Isn't that a little close to the Outlands?" He asked, sounding slightly concerned.

Spyro didn't blame him. His memories of the Outlands weren't exactly pleasant.

"Yeah, it's near the Outskirts, the little middle ground between the Skylands and the Outlands." Drobot explained. "It's a lot nicer than you'd expect, I assure you. Besides, it's the only place where I can fix my gear." He stated, gesturing at his damaged wings.

"A town… in the Outskirts?" Camo spoke suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to him. The little green dragon looked like he was thinking, his gaze fixed on something far away as he held a paw to his chin. "Where there's cool tech stuff?" Camo continued thinking, humming steadily. Then the little green dragon's eyes went round and his eyebrows shot up. Apparently, he had realised something. "Ah- _Ha_!" He exclaimed suddenly, pointing at Drobot accusingly as a wide smile spread through his face. "I know where you live!"

"You do!?" Drobot exclaimed in shock. "How!?"

"Ohhh man! How could I _not_ know!?" Camo interjected in Drobot's stead. "That place is soooo cool!" The little dragon stated cheerfully as he wagged his bushy tail behind him.

"Well, what is it?" Sunburn asked, genuinely curious.

"Oh, brother." Drobot sighed, covering his eyes with his paws.

"It's this place called Motleyville!" Camo began excitedly. "It's home to the BattleBrawl Arena _and_ the Ridepocalypse Demo Derby!" He explained, speaking the names with dramatic effect..

"The what now?" Sunburn asked, apparently confused.

"I've never heard of those things." Whirlwind admitted. "What are they?"

"I've heard about them." Spyro interjected, causing everyone to focus on him.

"You have?" Drobot asked nervously.

"Yeah. And I gotta say," Spyro said. "I'm not a big fan of them." He stated with a small frown.

"Why? What are they?" Whirlwind asked.

"From what I heard from Master Eon," Spyro began. "They are these underground fight clubs and illegal supercharger race derbies. It's a whole business, run by some mayor bad guys, which is why the Skylanders haven't taken them out yet." He explained.

"Oh." Whirlwind said simply, shrinking slightly.

"Suddenly," Sunburn began. "I'm not so eager to go to Drobot's home now." He said, frowning. "No offence, Drobot." He added quickly, turning his head to the coppery green dragon."

"None taken," Drobot responded sluggishly. "Part of the reason I put this suit together-" He gestured at his mechanical appendages. "-Was so I could get out of that place. They always host these really dangerous games and get people hurt. And it's all hosted by these two greedy jerks called Pandergast and Baron Von Shellshock." Drobot explained, frowning as he mentioned the two names of who Spyro guessed, were some really nasty villains. "But, it's the only place I know where I can fix my suit." Drobot added, in an almost ashamed tone as he lowered his head.

Spyro ran the situation through his mind. While he would be ready to bet an arm and a leg on Sprocket being able to fix Drobot's gear, he couldn't ignore the fact he secretly wanted to take a look at Motleyville. Not just because it was Drobot's home and he wanted to get to know more about his friend, but also because he found the opportunity to take a swing at such a large evil business very tempting to say the least.

However, Spyro remembered he wasn't alone. He had four other dragons now behind him, with hopes on becoming Skylanders, which meant they were his responsibility, and going to an underground fight-club-illegal-supercharger badguy heaven with them didn't exactly sound like a responsible thing to do.

"Alright guys," Spyro spoke up, drawing his friends' attention to him. "I want to go to Motleyville to help Drobot out. I can't really ask any of you to come with me, and I won't think less of any of you if you don't."

He was about to continue, when he was suddenly cut off by Sunburn. "I'll come with you." He said simply. "I can't stand by when others are doing the right thing around me."

"I'll go too." Whirlwind said steadily. "If… If you'll have me." She added, more shyly.

"Welp, if everyone's going," Camo shrugged. "I guess I'm coming too. Wouldn't want to get lonely." He joked.

After this, Spyro took a long look at his new friends. They all had known each other for so little time, and yet, they were all ready to help eachother out. It left him a little speechless.

"Spyro? You okay?" Drobot asked suddenly. "You've stayed silent for twelve seconds."

"Uhhh, yeah, I'm alright." Spyro responded hurriedly, shaking himself back into focus. "Well, It we are all going, we should follow Drobot," He said, pointing at his friend. "Where to, buddy?" Spyro asked.

At this, Drobot took a little pause to clear his throat. "Yes, of course." He began. "Just follow me." He said, turning around before he started walking in a straight line.

The other dragons followed Drobot until they all reached the edge of the large isle the flea market stood on. There, Drobot came to a sudden stop, looking out to the horizon for a few seconds.

After a short pause, Drobot slowly turned around to face Spyro and the others. He had a paw scratching the back of his head and an embarrassed blush could be faintly seen on his face.

"Yeaaah, I might need to be carried there." Drobot chuckled bashfully, advertising his friend's eyes.

The other four dragons shared an awkward silence and sideways glances. However, before long, Camo stepped up. "Rock, paper scissors?" He suggested, shrugging as he made "scissors" with one of his paws.

* * *

Spyro flew through the air, followed by Whirlwind and Camo. The three of them were following Sunburn, who after choosing "scissors" when everyone else chose "rock", was carrying Drobot beneath him.

The five dragons had been flying for a while now. The sun was actually starting to get really low and yellow was now the prevalent color in the sky. However, as Spyro and his friends continued their trip, the sky slowly began losing color. It didn't become dark with nightfall, but rather a dull, lifeless grey, indicating proximity to the Outlands.

"Where to now?" Spyro asked out loud.

"Straight forward." Drobot answered. "We're almost there." He announced.

"Oh, thank you." Sunburn said in relief between tired breaths.

"Sunburn, you know you could just let someone else carry him right?" Spyro asked his friend.

"Oh, don't worry," Sunburn responded, forcing his voice not to sound exhausted. "We're almost there anyway, right Drobot?"

"Yes, we are." Drobot confirmed. "In fact, it's right there." He said, pointing forward with one of his paws.

At that, Spyro looked forward. In the distance, he saw a large chain of yellowish-orange islands, all very large in size and connected by intricate bridges and roads that seemed to be made from scrap metal and monster truck tires. Spyro also noticed that there were several spotlights aimed upwards to the sky.

One island in particular, was much bigger than the rest. the spotlights on that island were moving frantically, as if there was a show happening.

"Alright then." Spyro picked up after absorbing the sight. "Drobot? Where's your house exactly? That place is a bit bigger than I imagined."

"It's near the Stadium." Drobot responded. "Once we land on the island, we should go to my place, wait for my to put my gear back together and leave immediately." He stated. "This place is not the kind of tourist trap you'd enjoy." He warned.

"Alright then." Spyro began. "We'll be in and out." He told his friend reassuringly.

After a while, the five dragons got close enough to one of the islands to make a landing. Spyro, Camo and Whirlwind all landed normally, while Drobot was dropped off by Sunburn who, after letting go of Drobot, collapsed on the dusty, yellowish floor.

There, Sunburn panted with his eyes closed. "I'm not flying him back." He stated as he slowly began getting up.

"You won't need to." Drobot began. "We just need to find my house and I'll be able to fix my gear. Then, I'll fly back myself." He said as he started walking toward the centre of the island chain, to where the largest island was.

Afterwards, the four other dragons followed Drobot closely as the coppery green dragon navigated through the large, junkyard-looking city. As they walked through the dusty streets, Spyro and his friends were faced with many strange sights, like piles of tires, some of which were on fire, pits of tar-like substances, shoddy houses made out of scrap metals and a couple of towers with spotlights, looming down on the streets. There were also what seemed like a lot of scraped supercharges, with varied levels of rust, as well as a lot of large machinery, like construction cranes, junk compactors and more, in smaller islands in the distance.

The locals, were a race of creatures Spyro had heard Master Eon mention, but not elaborate on. They were these short, bipedal fish with sharp teeth and big hands called Landsharks. They all had fins, gills and even shark-like tails, but they seemed able to breath on land just fine. And despite a lot of them looking quite mean at first sight, they were mostly no trouble, save a couple of tourist shoutouts and dirty looks. There were also a couple of mabu, greebles and even a few trolls here and there, but the landsharks were a clear majority.

There was something that caught Spyro's eye however, and that made him get a little on edge, was that he noticed a cyclop. It was small, had green skin and deep a brown robe. With recent events taken into account, Spyro felt like he was a little entitled to be weary of the one eyed creature, especially since it looked like it was following Spyro and his friends for a stretch of the way to Drobot's home.

But then, after a few minutes the robed cyclop took a turn, fading into a crowd of landsharks and not showing up again. This did little to ease Spyro's conscience, since a bad feeling had now settled in his subconscious, but he did his best to keep it to himself. For all he knew, that cyclop was just some guy, not a scout from the One-Eyed Legion.

Then, after walking through a few streets, the five dragons arrived at what looked like a large plaza, surrounded by houses and a single bridge, which led to the largest island of the bunch. Now that they were closer, they could tell that the island seemed to have a huge stadium built on it, which was surrounded by spotlight towers. Even from where they were, the five dragons could hear a thundering racket come from the stadium. It sounded like people cheering, engines roaring and sport hosts speaking through megaphones.

"Must be quite a show." Spyro said, keeping his eyes on the stadium, admittedly impressed by the size of the stadium, which was easily ten times bigger than the one they used for training back in the Academy.

"It always is." Drobot spoke behind Spyro, making him turn around. "That's the problem." He added, his expression darkening up as he did. "Anyway, that there-" He picked up, pointing to Spyro's right. "-Is my house."

At that, Spyro turned to where Drobot was pointing. He was faced with a two floor, rectangular structure. in between two smaller houses. There were a couple of windows on each floor but, other than a garage gate, Spyro couldn't see any way of entering the house.

However, Drobot quickly walked over to his home and stood on the right hand side of the garage door. This prompted Spyro the other dragons to follow him. Once he was closer, Spyro noticed that there was a small keypad on the wall beside the garage door.

With surprising speed, Drobot pressed a six digit code on the keypad. The coppery green dragon did this so quickly, Spyro couldn't even catch the code.

But then, Spyro heard a loud noise, like a machine revving up. The purple dragon soon figured out the sound came from the garage gate on Drobot's house, which slowly rose up, allowing entrance to the dragon's home.

"What a cool door." Camo said in wonder, following the rising garage door with his eyes.

"Thanks. I made it myself." Drobot responded. "Anyway, you guys are welcome to stay in the first floor while I fix myself up." He said as he began walking into his house.

At this, the other four dragons walked in as well, panning their heads around, scanning Drobot's little home. There was a small TV placed over a wooden stand against a wall, a round, bed-like couch in front of it, which had a black remote control between a couple of pillows. There was also a kitchen counter on the opposite wall to the TV. The room was well illuminated by four lightbulbs near the corners of the room and a simple ceiling fan kept the room temperature cool. There was also a stairway, which led to the second floor above the dragons. There seemed to be a metal hatch dividing both floors.

"I'll definitely take a while." Drobot picked up, making his way to the stairway. "So… make yourselves at home." He said, gesturing at his home before walking up the stairway and closing the hatch after him, leaving his four companions by themselves.

"Well, this is… a little smaller than I expected." Sunburn said as he walked over to the kitchen counter.

"I think it's nice." Camo stated as he belly flopped into Drobot's couch and picked up his remote.

"I wonder why he doesn't want us up there?" Whirlwind asked, pointing her head up at the ceiling.

"I'm sure he has his reasons." Spyro interjected. "Besides, I should know that focusing with someone breathing down your shoulder is difficult."

A few minutes passed, and there was no sign of Drobot. Whirlwind and Camo had found a way to entertain themselves by laying on Drobot's couch and watching television. Camo had the remote and constantly changed channels, complaining about there not being anything good to watch.

Sunburn however, was pacing frantically through the room, fidgeting with Drobot's things, as if he was trying to force himself to be patient.

However, after a little while, Sunburn had enough. "That's it, I'm sorry but I can't stay here." He said, making his way to Drobot's doorway. "I'll just go get some fresh air. Tell me when Drobot finishes with his repairs."

"Cool." Camo said simply, not taking his eyes of the TV screen.

"Wait!" Spyro said suddenly, stopping Sunburn and making him turn to face him. "I'll go with you!" He offered.

"Umm, alright." Sunburn agreed awkwardly.

"Be careful, you two." Whirlwind said, in a slightly worried tone, turning her head from the TV to the two dragons.

"We will, Whirlwind." Spyro said reassuringly with a smile, which made Whirlwind smile back.

"O-Okay then." Whirlwind said, quickly turning back to the TV.

After that, Spyro and Sunburn got out of Drobot's house, out to the plaza. There wasn't a whole lot to see in the plaza itself, just a couple of other houses and piles of scrap metal or tires, all covered in yellowish-brown dust. Something that called Spyros attention was that, other than the ruckus coming from the stadium, there was no noise. No locals, no animals, no nothing.

However,before long, Spyro tried breaking the silence. "So, Sunburn," He began, calling his friend's attention. "Why did you want to become a Skylander?" He asked. "Beside you owing me your life of course." He added quickly, still feeling really uncomfortable with the whole deal.

At Spyro's question, Sunburn looked over to the horizon, as if he was thinking his answer through. After a noticeable pause, Sunburn spoke up. "Spyro, I think you can tell, I'm no ordinary dragon." He started. "I don't mean that in a narcissistic way, because I don't consider myself better than others." He explained. "I mean I come from a rather… peculiar heritage." He entonated the last words strangely.

"What do you mean?" Spyro asked, starting to get really curious about Sunburn.

"I mean," Sunburn picked up, after a long sigh. "I'm a hybrid. I'm the son of a dragon and a phoenix." He stated.

"You're a _what_!?" Spyro asked in shock, not understanding the words on his first go. "That's awesome! I didn't know there were dragon-phoenix hybrids."

"Yeah, it is pretty awesome." Sunburn agreed, puffing his chest proudly. "And yeah, I didn't really expect you to know about dragon-phoenix hybrids. According to my old man, I'm the very first!" He stated with a proud smile.

"You seem very proud of your heritage pal," Spyro said with a chuckle. "I got some cool blood running through my veins myself." He joked, nudging Sunburn with his wing.

"Yeah, I can tell." Sunburn responded, chuckleing lightly. "But anyway, back to why I wanted to become a Skylander." He picked up, making Spyro focus once again. However, before Sunburn started speaking, Spyro noticed he darkened up, as if he was remembering unpleasant memories. "It actually has to do with something really personal and… I want you to know, I don't usually share this with people I've known for such a short time," He stated, making Spyro worry slightly. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of secret Sunburn could have. "However, I don't really know why, but I feel like I can trust you." He stated.

Spyro was a little taken back by this. He took a step back from Sunburn, almost involuntarily as his eyes went round for a second. "Well Sunburn," Spyro started awkwardly. "If you trust me, then I'll try to deserve it." He promised, taken a little by surprise by Sunburn's straightforwardness.

"Thank you, Spyro." Sunburn said with a pleasant smile before he continued speaking. "In any case, the reason I wanted to become a Skylander is-"

"Aw yeah, finally!" A new voice shouted in the distance, interrupting Sunburn. "We found it!"

"After getting lost five times throughout a span of thirty minutes." Another voice grumbled. This one sounded lower and gravely.

Spyro couldn't hold himself back from shifting his focus from Sunburn to where those voices were coming from. He felt a strange sensation when he heard them, like he should know who they were.

And when Spyro turned to look where the voices were coming from, his eyes went round and had to force himself not to gasp out loud.

Walking side by side, apparently heading to the stadium, were two dragons. One was roughly Spyro's size, had deep, ocean blue scales, fish-like tail and horns and a peculiar golden harness around his chest.

The second dragon, was at least twice the size of the first. His thick scales were an earthy brown while the six horns on his head and the spikes running down his back were a rusty yellow. It made him look like a living ore vein in the shape of a dragon, with no wings.

The two of them were taking to each other as the walked and it seemed like they had not noticed Spyro or Sunburn.

"Ok, we got lost _three_ times," The blue dragon corrected, putting three fingers on one paw up and waving it in front of the brown dragon's face, something that seemed to irritated the latter. "And it's not like it matters, the best part of a journey is the journey itself, not the destination." He said with a wry smirk.

"Not if the journey is with you." The brown dragon responded grumpily, rolling his magma-red eyes.

"Ouch." The blue dragon said simply in a mock-hurt tone.

Spyro was about to try and say something to the two dragons, since a strong urge to talk to them was welling up within him. But, he heard his own name called first.

"Spyro." Sunburn's voice called. "It's them, the others from the Academy." He stated. apparently aware of the newly arrived pair as well.

"Yeah," Spyro said simply as he kept eyes on the two new dragons, his mind focusing on remembering the duo's names. "It is them. Should we talk to them?" He asked.

"I don't see why not." Sunburn answered as he began heading toward the two dragons, a course of action Spyro imitated. "Hey!" Sunburn called, actually getting the two dragons to look at him and Spyro.

At this, the two dragons stopped walking and gave Spyro and Sunburn wide eyed looks. "Whoa!" The blue dragon exclaimed in surprise. "You guys are here too?"

"Apparently," Spyro began. "What a coincidence, huh?"

"Yes," The brown dragon answered, with slightly narrow eyes. "Indeed."

"So!" The blue dragon picked up suddenly. "Why are you guys here?" He asked, glancing between Spyro and Sunburn.

"We're helping a friend with something." Spyro answered simply. "What are _you_ guys doing here?" He asked back.

"Oh, we're here for the games!" The blue dragon responded. At his answer, Spyro noticed the brown dragon nodded in agreement.

"You two want to participate in the games here?" Sunburn asked, a slight edge of disbelief in his voice. "You are aware they are some seriously shady bad guy business, right?"

"They are!?" The blue dragon asked suddenly. "Aw, _nuts_!"

"And also," Spyro began, as his mind began finally recalling some memories about the two dragons. "Zap, was it?" He said, calling the blue dragon's attention. "Didn't you say your parents were worried about you, or something?" He asked, remembering the blue dragon's reason for not staying at the Academy the first time.

At this, Zap's brow furrowed in confusion. He then opened his mouth, as if to respond, However, not only did no sound come out, but after a few seconds, the blue dragons cherry red eyes went round, as if he suddenly remembered something he had completely forgotten about.

"Aw, _double nuts_!" Zap yelled, facepalming himself and groaning loudly.

"In any case," The brown dragon interjected suddenly. "I at least, am aware of the dangers of these games. I don't need help of warnings from you." He said in a mildly disdainful tone as he gestured at Spyro and Sunburn with his chin.

"Hey, we're not helping you," Sunburn responded, speaking a little louder and taking a step toward the brown dragon. "We're trying to stop you from doing something really stupid."

At that, the brown dragon bared his teeth and let out a low growl. "You don't get to tell me what to do." He spat at Sunburn, which made the bird-like dragon growl back at him.

"Guys," Spyro interjected. "Let's cool down please." He said, getting in between the two dragons.

"Why should we listen to you?" The brown dragon growled at Spyro.

At that, Spyro felt a little sting of stress. He felt like the brown dragon wasn't the most cooperative person he'd meet. "Maybe because I'm a Skylander, buddy?" He snapped back.

At that, the brown dragon's eyes, previously narrow with anger, went round with surprise. "Oh, right." He stammered, taking a couple of steps back from Spyro. "Sorry." He apologised, lowing his head slightly. "I'm… I'm Bash, by the way." He introduced himself.

This sudden change in attitude admittedly surprised Spyro. _"Does this guy respect Skylanders or something?"_ Spyro asked himself, wondering why the previously uncooperative dragon had suddenly loosen up so easily.

"Oh, that's right!" Zap suddenly interjected, surprising Spyro a little. "You are a Skylander! That's really cool!"

"Yeah, and so are we!" A familiar, squeaky voice interrupted suddenly. Spyro and the other dragons looked around, finding no source for the voice until, followed by a strange hissing sound, a small, green dragon appeared in between them all, an innocent smile on his face.

"Aren't we Sunburn?" Camo asked suddenly, giving the bird-like dragon a nudge on the shoulder.

"Actually…" Spyro began slowly.

"Guys? What's going on?" Another voice questioned, which made the five dragons look to their side.

There, they saw Whirlwind walking up to them slowly, almost uncertainty, a slightly worried expression on her face.

"She's a Skylander too by the way." Camo stated casually, pointing at Whirlwind.

"So wait." Zap picked up, making everyone focus on him. "You're telling me-" He said, pointing at Spyro. "-That you've been giving out free Skylander licences to these guys-" He gestured at Sunburn, Camo and Whirlwind. "-And not us!?" He asked, in an almost outraged way.

"Technically…" Spyro tried speaking. "None of them are Skylanders yet. They need to go the Academy and pass an entrance exam." He explained.

"Ohhh... I understand now." Zap stated, nodding in comprehension. "So we could join up too, if we wanted to, right?" He asked, gesturing at himself and Bash.

"Um… I, uh…" Spyro stammered nervously. "I-If you want to, I don't see a problem with it." He stated.

"Oh, cool!" Zap exclaimed. "But, I don't think we're gonna." He stated, pursing his lips.

At that, Spyro's mind froze frame for a second, as if it needed a moment to properly process what Zap had just said.

"Yeah." Bash picked up. "I don't really like the idea of someone barking orders at me." He stated. "I prefer doing thing my own way."

"Same." Zap agreed. "The whole licenced hero deal sounds cool, don't get me wrong, I just don't think it's for for me."

"Woah." Camo interjected suddenly. "You two don't want to be Skylanders?" He asked, his voice riddled in disbelief. "This guy-" He picked up, gesturing at Spyro. "This guy, this… absolute _unit_ , right here, _right here_." He continued, gesturing at Spyro more and more violently. "Has been handing out Skylander licences on silver platers all day long. And now, you are just gonna turn them down!?"

Bash and Zap then exchanged a sideways glance in a short silence, before looking back at Camo. "Yeah, pretty much." Zap answered with a shrug as Bash nodded in agreement.

"If he's just handing them out." Bash spoke up. "Then they can't be that valuable." He said, turning to look at Spyro.

"Then what of we bet on them?" He questioned suddenly, almost by reflex as his mind just finished catching up with the situation.

"What!?" All the other dragons present asked simultaneously, each one in a diferent tone, with a diferent expression on their face and at a diferent volume.

"You two said you were going to those games right?" Spyro picked up, unfazed as he pointed at the stadium behind him. "Well, what if we put some bets in? If I can beat you guys in whatever game you're going to play in there, you become Skylanders." He offered, forcing himself to keep a straight face.

"Spyro!" Sunburn intervened. "You can't be serious!"

"Aren't those games dangerous?" Whirlwind asked in a worried tone.

"You mean awesome." Camo corrected casually.

"I'm interested," Bash stated, with a strange smile on his face, which seemed to express a strange mix of anticipation and excitement. "Haven't had a good challenge in a while."

"Color me intrigued," Zap said as well, giving Spyro a curious smile. "But! If we're betting, it means you have to give us something if we win too." He said, sitting in his hind legs and crossing his arms. "So? What do you have to give us?"

"He doesn't have to give you anything!" Sunburn declared suddenly. Spyro noticed the red dragon was looking quite tense and was giving Zap and Bash a rather disdainful look. He also started to feel a slowly intensifying heat, coming from Sunburn.

"Sunburn," Spyro called, making his friend turn to look at him, the anger on his face dissipating slightly. "I'll handle this." He said, giving him a small smile.

This made Sunburn open his mouth to protest, but after no sound came out, he closed his mouth again, and lowered his head, backing away slowly in silence.

At this, Spyro looked back to Zap and Bash. He took a moment to think through what he had to give the two dragons. He thought about the gold in the Relic Room in the Academy, however, looking at the two dragons before him, something told him they weren't interested in money or anything in the Relic Room for that matter.

Realizing he had no real stock for bets, Spyro closed his eyes and let out a sigh, lowing his head slightly. He'd thought up a stupid solution, but a solution nonetheless.

After opening his eyes and raised his head back up, he spoke up. "If you beat me, you get one wish." He said with a straight face.

This made Zap and Bash give him confused looks. "What's that supposed to mean?" Zap asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I know the Headmistress of Skylander Academy personally," Spyro began explaining. "She happens to be in charge of one of the most prestigious institutions in the Skylands _and_ also happens to be one of the most powerful spellcasters in the realm." He said, trying to keep a confident tone as he spoke. "If you beat me, you get a favor from her, on my word." He finished.

At that, Zap and Bash remained silent, looking at Spyro vacantly. The two of them then shared a quickly sideways glance, before looking back at Spyro. "Y-You can do that?" Zap asked shakily.

"You bet I can." Spyro confirmed, with a nod. "So, guys? Do we have a deal?" He asked, looking between Zap and Bash.

The two dragons took a little while to answer, as if the two were thinking the situation through. However, before long, the two of them seemed to come to a decision. "You're on!" The duo exclaimed.

"Alright then," Spyro responded in a satisfied tone. "When do we start gentlemen?" He asked, unaware of what exactly the games they were betting on were.

"There should be a new even in about an hour." Bash stated, looking behind Spyro, toward the arena.

As Bash did this, Spyro noticed that the uproar coming from the stadium was slowly diminishing, despite all the spotlights staying on and no one leaving the stadium, indicating the show had taken some sort of intermission.

"And, uh…"Spyro began shakily. "What are these games exactly? It's my first time here." He admitted.

"Yeah, same for us." Zap stated simply.

"Then why are you all betting on this?" Whirlwind asked suddenly. "No one even knows what's going on."

"You, uh…" Zap began, pointing at Whirlwind. "You got me there, girl." He said, taking a couple of steps back from Whirlwind, something Bash did as well. This made her flich slightly, lowering her head a bit.

However, Camo spoke up. "Alright, look," He began, raising his paws over his head, calling everyone's attention. "I talked to the locals around here." Camo began.

" _When_!?" Sunburn asked incredulously. "You never left the-"

"Shhhhh!" Camo hissed loudly, cutting Sunburn's inquiry off and making the red dragon back off, allowing Camo to continue.

"As I was saying," Camo picked up. "I talked with some locals and they told me there's going to be one really big game instead of two small games. They said it's gonna be like a free-for-all fight, and that there's going to be a big prize, they said they didn't know what."

Everyone stared in silence at the little green dragon, dumbfounded by his strange knowledge. "How in the Underworld do you even know all that?" Sunburn asked incredulously.

"I'm the guide." Camo answered simply with a toothy smile as he wagged his tail behind him.

"So it's a free-for-all, huh?" Zap began. "That sounds kind of cool." He stated, a smile broadening on his face.

"I should be interesting." Bash agreed.

"Oh! By the way!" Camo picked up suddenly. "The show starts in about an hour, so you guys better get to the arena!" He suggested, pointing at the stadium. "And while you guys fight," Camo spoke up again. "We get to watch!" He exclaimed excitedly. "Isn't that cool, guys?" He asked, looking at Sunburn and Whirlwind.

"Not really." Sunburn grumbled, keeping a disdainful stare on Zap and Bash.

"Alright! Then it's decided!" Zap declared. "We'll be seeing you in an hour purple dude!" He said, waving at Spyro before using his wings to boost himself off the ground, flying off toward the stadium.

"In an hour." Bash spoke, making Spyro focus on him. "We'll see what you're made of, Skylander." He said, in a bold way, yet, he said it with a small, stern smile, that gave out vives of competition more so than disrespect.

"In an hour." Spyro responded, smiling back and giving Bash a firm nod, a gesture that was reciprocated before the large brown dragon began walking toward the stadium, leaving Spyro and his friends behind.

Afterwards, Spyro watched as the two dragons made their way toward the stadium. He felt a strange sense of anticipation crawl up his spine. He felt like he was about to do something important. For some reason, Spyro couldn't help but smirk at the thought of facing off against those two.

* * *

A while had passed since Spyro had made his bet with Zap and Bash. Now, Spyro and his friends were on the inside of the massive stadium, which was rather imposing from within.

"Impressive." Drobot said, as he looked around. "I've never been on the inside of this place, but I must admit, the engineering is much more respectable than I anticipated."

The coppery green dragon had joined Spyro and his friends just after Zap and Bash had left to the stadium, so he was unable to met them. However, Drobot's blue mechanical appendages were all now free from any sign of damage and, according to Drobot himself, were working at full capacity.

As for the stadium itself, the facility was much more impressive from the inside. Just as Spyro had imagined, it was several times larger than the training field back at the Academy, dwarfing it completely. There was a tall ring of row after row of seats to look down on the massive stage below. These rows were taken up almost entirely by Landshark locals, as well as a couple of shifty-looking mabu, greebles and trolls. There were also several towers, crammed with spotlights shining down on the stage.

The fighting stage below Spyro and his friends, looked like a strange mix between a racetrack and an obstacle course. There was no clear rhyme or reason to it, other than the many diferent hazards, like burning debris, spike pits, landmines and cement barricades for cover, all riddled throughout clearings around very crude asphalt roads. As Spyro looked down at the battlefield, he saw something explode in a huge cloud of black smoke. He didn't get to see what it was, which only made him more nervous.

"That looks safe." Spyro joked, swallowing hard as a drop of sweat fell down his temple.

"Oh, relaaaax." Camo, who was carrying a bucket of popcorn, said dismissively. "It just looks bad, but you can do it. I believe in you." He said, a little unconvincingly since he was cramming a handful of popcorn down his mouth from a bucket he had bought for the show.

"I believe in you too Spyro." Whirlwind admitted shyly, lowering her head as she said so.

"And I," Sunburn spoke up, putting his paw on Spyro's shoulder. "Have no doubt you'll teach those two a lesson." He stated.

"Yeah, that too." Camo added quickly.

"Thanks guys," Spyro began. "It means a lot." He said honestly as he smiled at his friends, who all smiled back supportively.

"Hey, purple dude!" Another voice sounded, coming from behind Spyro. The purple dragon turned around to see Zap, flying a few meters away. "C'mon, the game is about to start!" He said energetically, gesturing at Spyro to follow him.

"I'll be right there!" Spyro responded. At that, Spyro turned back around to his friends. "Wish me luck!" He said. "Not that I need it or anything." He added jokingly.

Then, Spyro flew off, following Zap to the middle of the stage, located a ways away from where Spyro's friends had sat down to watch. As the two dragons landed on the dusty ground, Spyro noticed there were a lot of competitors apart from him and Zap and Bash, who was pacing around the starting point.

"Soooo," Spyro began, taking look around. "We've got a lot of company, huh?" He asked.

"I would seem so." Bash answered plainly.

Scattered through the very sizeable arena, were all sorts of enemies. There were trolls, clad in leather and wearing blast goggles, wielding large, black hammers. Greebles dressed in dirty raggs, swinging silver swords around. Drow elves, sticking to the darker parts of the arena, dressed in their dark red armors, silently sharpening their weapons and even a bulky arkeyan robot or two, standing unmoving, imposingly.

"I wonder how we're gonna focus with all these other guys in the way?" Zap wandered, taking a look at the many other participants.

"Should we set a rendezvous or something?" Spyro proposed sarcastically.

"Hehe." Zap chuckled. "I'm sure we'll find a way." He said with a smirk, which made Spyro smirk back. He was starting to feel like he was getting too eager about this.

"Just try not to lose to a random grunt." Bash stepped in, calling Spyro and Zap's attention. "I would hate to miss out on a good fight."

"Same here." Spyro responded, looking up at the brown dragon with a determined expression, still unable to stop smirking.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A magnified voice Spyro did not recognize suddenly blared through the air, making everyone focus on it. "Welcome, one and all, to tonight's main event!" The voice exclaimed with great showmanship, getting the crowd in the stadium to let out a thunderous cheer.

After this, Spyro saw a large floating podium, slightly similar to Master Eon's descend from the dark sky. This podium was built more like a spectator booth and was a lot of brass colors. And in it, there were two figures smiling broadly before microphones. The podium floated above the centre of the racing curse.

"I am your lovely, outright princely local celebrity, Pandergast!" The first voice introduced itself. Spyro noticed it came came for a strange, fury creature, who was wearing an exaggerated red top hat with bronze goggles and a grey feather on it, as well as an elegant red suit with golden buttons and linings.

"And I am, Baron Von Shellshock!" A second voice introduced itself. Spyro noticed it had a peculiar accent, and that it was coming from a scary-looking blue crab, who was wearing a black pirate hat and a fancy red corsair outfit.

"And we will be your very good-looking hosts for the night!" Pandergast announced proudly. "And what a night it's going to be, ladies and gentlemen! Because we've got a whole boatload of competitors here!"

"Indeed!" Shellshock picked up. "We have a little bit of everything tonight. We have trolls, greebles, spell punks and even a couple of dragons!" He said, referring to Spyro, Zap and Bash.

"This show promises to be a very memorable event, Shellshock!" Pandergast continued. "As you know, this is No-Rules-Sunday! Which means- you guessed it- there are no rules!" The showman exclaimed with a hearty chuckle.

"Whoever is the last one standing gets the super secret prize we have in store!" Shellshock explained. "It will be sure to be worth the while of anyone tough enough to fight their way for it!" The crab declared.

"Now, before we begin with this honestly, fantabulous spectacle." Pandergast interjected. "We have an announcement to make! We have a new gift shop opening soon if anyone is interested." He announced.

"Aw, come now!" Shellshock spoke up. "We are all here for a fight! Not for gifts! Am I right people!?" He shouted, his magnified voice reaching everyone on the stadium, and getting a fittingly booming response.

"Of course! Where's my showmanship!?" Pandergars picked himself up. "Let's not waste anymore time ladies and gentlemen! At the sound of this gun-" He began, pulling out a simple prop gun. "-The games will begin!" He declared, getting another loud cheer from the crowd.

"Alright," Zap began. "This is it, here we go. You better get calling your headmistress pal," He said, looking at Spyro. "I'll be wanting my favor."

"So will I." Bash added, walking closer to the other two dragons, keeping his eyes on Spyro.

"I'll consider talking to Kaossandra about it when you two finish you graduation exams." Spyro responded snarkily, getting into battle pose, something Zap and Bash mirrored.

"In, Three!" Pandergast began counting down. "Two!" He continued, taking an obvious dramatic pause before reaching "One!"

"Wait!" A new voice shouted, it's command heeded by Pandergast, who did not fire the gun. "I have an announcement to make as well." The voice stated, in a breathy voice Spyro found dreadfully familiar.

"And what would that be, stranger?" Pandergast asked curiously.

Spyro slowly turned to his head toward where the breathy voice was coming from. When he did, his fears were confirmed.

Standing hunched over, with his gangly arms dragging behind him and a half-open eye, Unulus stood in the arena, accompanied by four burly, heavily spiked-armored cyclops, all of which were wielding maces.

"Guys," Spyro whispered to Zap and bash, keeping his eyes on Unulus. "The bet is off. Maybe some other time." He stated.

"What? Why?" Zap asked in confusion.

"Those guys aren't here to play games," Spyro explained, pointing at Unulus and his new, burly goons. "You guys should leave." He said, not wanting to get them caught in a crossfire between him and Unulus.

"My announcement," Unulus suddenly picked up, speaking loudly and cutting Spyro off. "Is that no one should leave their seats." He said simply. "You see, I have a couple of friends, hidden somewhere in this stadium, and if they see someone try to leave their seat, let's just say, that that someone will be forced to sit down again, and they might not be able to stand up afterwards." Unulus threatened nonchalantly.

"To put it in short," Unulus restarted, shrugging with his arms. "Everyone in this stadium is my hostage." He stated, a strange sense of malevolent pride in his voice as he did.

At that, as if on cue, Spyro saw a multitude of bright orange lazers fire down from the spotlight towers above the stadium, aimed at random, empty seats, causing people around them to scream in alarm and fright, making it clear Unulus wasn't bluffing.

" _Oh no."_ Spyro thought to himself, a drop of sweat trailing down his temple. _"Sunburn, Whirlwind, Camo, Drobot!"_ He thought. Would his friends stay put? What would Unulus do to them if they didn't? What did the cyclop chieftain have in mind with all of this? How had he even gotten here?

All those questions raced through Spyro's mind so quickly he got a headache, which was only made worse when Pandergast's magnified voice sounded through the air.

"This is an outrage!" Pandergast exclaimed. "You can't just ruin our great games!"

"Yeah!" Shellshock agreed. "Who do you think you are!?" He asked angrily.

"I am Unulus." The cyclop introduced himself. "And I am not here to ruin your little game, on the contrary. I'm here to sponsor it." He stated with an malevolent smile.

This made the two hosts enter a stunned silence, that stretched out for a few seconds. "Um, could you repeat that?" Shellshock asked meekly, snapping back into focus..

"Whatever those two showmen are offering," Unulus picked up, pointing at Pandergast and Shellshock as he seemed to speak not to the audience, but rather to the competitors in the arena. "I am willing to double, for whatever underhanded criminal eliminates…" He said, taking a pause as he moved his arm, pointing away from the two hosts to someone else. "Spyro the purple dragon." He finished, his sharp metal gauntlet now pointing right at Spyro.

Spyro didn't move or look around, he didn't need to. He could already feel the hungry gazes of every criminal in that arena focus on him, apparently easily swayed by Unulus' offer.

"Sorry old friend," Unulus began, a surprisingly genuine tone of regret in his voice. "You're too much of a nuisance to take fairly, and I'm down several troops. This was the only way." He explained, letting out a long sigh afterwards.

Then, he turned back to Pandergast and Shellshock. "Your game will resume as you planned and no spectators will be hurt. As long as they remain spectators." Unulus explained. "I'll just spice things up a little bit, that's all." He said simply.

"Okay," Zap whispered suddenly. "This is not cool. This isn't what I signed up for."

"Neither did I," Bash stated. "I won't stand for this." He said with a low growl.

"No guys," Spyro whispered back. "You need to find a way to leave, this is dangerous." He said, trying to sway the two dragons.

"Dude, we came to _this_ place for the heck of it." Zap interrupted, gesturing around himself. "We aren't going to leave because of some one-eyed punk." He said firmly.

"Besides," Bash picked up, giving Spyro a serious look. "You owe us a fight." He said simply, a very small smile tugging at his lips.

Spyro wasn't eager, but it seemed like there was no way he was going to talk the two dragons out of staying and fighting a rigged free-for-all battle. So, he decided to roll with it.

"If we're gonna make it out of here," Spyro began, drawing Zap and Bash's attention. "We are going to have to work together." He stated, turning around from Zap and Bash and getting into battle pose.

When he did this, Spyro noticed that all around him, all the other competitors, greebles, trolls, drow and more, were all slowly walking toward them, gripping their weapons tightly as they all fixed their bloodthirsty eyes on him.

"What's on your mind?" Zap asked.

"I can handle Unulus," Spyro began, shifting his gaze from the many competitors to the gangly cyclop. "But I'd really appreciate it if you guys could keep the rest of the people here off my back."

"That sounds like fun." Bash said plainly, making it impossible for Spyro to tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"Alright then," Spyro picked up, focusing on Unulus and his bodyguards. "I trust you guys." He said lowering his head, still looking at Unulus, tensing his body up to move for whenever the cyclop made a move.

"You trust us?" Zap asked in disbelief. "Why?" He added, turning to look at Spyro

"We don't know each other," Bash stated. "You're being foolish." He warned, giving Spyro a disapproving look.

"Maybe," Spyro agreed. "But that doesn't change the fact I still need your help." He responded with a smile, turning around to look at the two dragons, who looked taken back by Spyro's response, staying in silence and looking at him with raised brows.

Afterwards, Pandergast's voice blared through the air once again. "Alright ladies and gentlemen," The host began. "There is no cause for alarm, just stay on your seats and enjoy the show!" He said, trying to make himself sound unaffected by the situation, mostly succeeding.

"At the sound of the gun, the game will start!" Shellshock declared, also sounding not entirely composed. "So, just… three, two, one!" He blurted quickly.

At that, the sound of gunfire echoed through the stadium, short but sonorous. And then, Spyro could just feel like something big had been cut loose. Then sudden battle cry of the dozens of competitors only fed this sensation.

However, Spyro kept eyes on the prize. He didn't look back to the competitors, after all, Zap and Bash were behind him. So, releasing the tension he had built up, Spyro used his wings and legs to shoot toward Unulus. As he flew through the air, Spyro dipped his head down, orange flames bursting on his horns as he quickly closed the gap between him and Unulus.

The purple dragon's burst of speed must have caught Unulus by surprise, because Spyro felt his head collide with something, something he sent sprawling back from the impact.

When he lifted his head to see what he had hit, Spyro saw that Unulus was struggling to get on his feet, a few meters away from where Spyro had felt himself impact. The four bodyguards were all exchanging nervous, confused glances and scratching their heads, unsure of what to do.

However, Spyro stayed focused on Unulus, who was already back on his feet. "Is it me, or is my ram getting just a teensee bit stronger?" Spyro asked with a smirk, as Unulus glared at him.

"It certainly has." Unulus hissed. "Making new friends?" He asked, making Spyro look behind him.

At this, Spyro laid eyes on a sight that made him incapable of holding back a smile. He saw Zap and Bash fighting off the other competitors, displaying their awesome powers.

Zap used a strange, gooey substance he secreted from his body to make himself a combat-ready slip-n-slide, using it to casually slide out of the way of the swords and hammers of the many trolls and greebles that were chasing him. Then, once his pursuers were out of breath, panting and bent over their knees, Zap circled back around them and when he was close enough, he released a short but vivrat stream of bright yellow lightning, which knocked out a good bunch of the hostile creatures.

Bash meanwhile, was handling one of the large arkeyan robots in the arena. The towering machine, was sturdily built and had two halves of a sturdy circular shield on both arms.

Spyro had actually fought with a similarly designed robotic enemy a while ago. To him these blue robot were huge and it was also taller than Bash, and definitely bigger. However, at least the difference wasn't as significant, which kind of brought the brown dragon's size into perspective for Spyro.

The two large foes circled each other for a few moments before the arkeyan robot slammed his arms together, completing the shield its arms were designed to create. To this, Bash rolled up into a ball, which began spinning in place, gaining speed, spinning faster and faster. Then, in a single moment, Bash shot directly at the arkeyan robot, crashing violently against its shield. The impact sent a metallic resonance through the air, and the arkeyan robot several feet back, with its circular shield now sporting a very big dent.

Spyro thanked the dragon duo silently, grateful for their help. However, Spyro then remembered he had something to do himself. He had to take care of Unulus.

After turning around, Spyro got into battle pose, ready for another fight with the gangly cyclop. He noticed that the four bodyguards had taken battle positions around their boss, while giving him enough space for him to stretch out his arm beside him.

Then, Unulus shoved his forearm, deep into the glowing rock in his black armor's chestplate, causing strange pink light to emerge from it. Then, in a quick motion, Unulus drew a long, single-bladed sword from his chest, made of a dark purple shimmering crystal, a falchion, identical to the one the cyclop chieftain had used during his first fight against Spyro.

Then, the falchion glowed an eerie purple light, along with the crystal on Unulus chestplate and the three crystal horns on his helmet, signaling the chieftain's murderous intent.

"Very well." Unulus began, giving Spyro a look of battle lust that rivaled the ones Enumat used to give, wild and wide-eyed. "Let us finish this!" He roared.

At that, Unulus charged at Spyro, holding his falchions ready to slice the purple Skylander. And the four bodyguards followed their leader, holding thier maces above their heads to swing them down on Spyro.

Due to the distance between him and his enemies, Spyro was able to use his wings to boost himself up into the air. There, Spyro fired a single firebolt at Unulus. The fiery projectile was blocked with a falchion swing from Unulus. However, as the projectile collided with Unulus' weapon, it created a sizeable cloud of dark smoke.

However, Spyro wasn't trying to harm Unulus, not yet. He instead used the smokescreen he had just made to give himself some time to clear out the bodyguards.

To do this, Spyro dove down, aiming for one of the one-eyed creatures heads. Then, Spyro used his paws to grip the horns on the cyclop's helmet, balancing his body on the creature's head. To this, the cyclop Spyro had landed on started stumbling around, not able to balance himself with a dragon on top of him.

But then, before long, what Spyro was trying to get to happen did. One of the other cyclops roared and raised his mace over his head, aiming to attack Spyro. However, since this was the course of action he had predicted, Spyro used his wings to boost himself off the first cyclop's head, just as the blow from the second cyclop was coming down.

The outcome was one cyclop swinging his mace at his friend's head, making him lose consciousness instantly and Spyro let out an amused laugh. "Nice job, dude! Wanna become a Skylander too?" He taunted at the cyclop.

"Don't lose focus!" Unulus' voice suddenly roared, dangerously close to Spyro.

The purple dragon then felt a slash of energy land on his back, sending a wave of pain through him in an impact that made him lose his balance and plummet down through the air, crashing on the dusty floor. Spyro guessed it must have been that strange energy slash Unulus' falchion could create. It hurt just as bad as it did back when the cyclop had first used it against him.

Afterwards, Spyro shook himself back into focus, powering through the pain from Unulus' strike to take a scan of his surroundings. He saw the three remaining cyclop bodyguards slowly walk toward him, holding their maces at the ready. One of them took a couple of steps forward, apparently very eager to cave Spyro's head in.

However, before the cyclop could reach Spyro, the was a strange clicking sound, followed by rapid beeping. This made the cyclop stop in his tracks and look down, something Spyro did as well.

The cyclop had one foot over a yellow disk with a red button on it's center, a landmine, which was beeping, faster and faster.

So, with an almost disappointed sigh, the cyclop closed his eye and seemingly accepted his fate. Spyro saw as the cyclop was sent flying out of the arena with a mighty blast, coming from the landmine, which also meant the number of bodyguards narrowed down to two.

Silently thanking the traps that were lain out in the arena and not wasting time, Spyro got on his feet and released two firebolts, one aimed at the bulging eyeball on each of the remaining bodyguards' heads.

The two projectiles collide with their targets, making them both let out pained groans and cover their faces. Spyro took this opportunity to ram one of the cyclops, crashing his lowered head against the exposed gut of his target. The impact sent the one-eyed creature sprawling back, knocked out.

Spyro then turned around, ready to release a barrage of firebolts at the last remaining bodyguard, who was still rubbing his wounded eye. Just as the cyclop was lowering his hands and refocusing and just as Spyro was getting ready to fire once again, the purple dragon saw a blazing green barril, roll down a nearby hill, trampling the cyclop.

" _Man, those are some effective traps!"_ Spyro thought to himself, taking a moment to thank the stadium traps for making his fight easier.

However, despite his success in defeating the bodyguards, Spyro had one last enemy to deal with. And that enemy happened to be charging straight at him.

Spyro had little time to react as Unulus approached him with falchion at the ready. The purple dragon tried backing away, but it was no use, the cyclop chieftain had too much reach.

Unulus struck Spyro with the flat of his blade, knocking the purple dragon to the ground, disorienting him slightly, however, thanks to his scales, Spyro could still think clearly enough to come up with a counter for Unulus' attack. Once he was on the ground, Spyro used his tail to slash at Unulus' legs, hitting them with the sharp edge of his tail.

This sent the cyclop chieftain stumbling back, eventually making him fall on his rear, opening him up for another attack. Spyro took this opening by firing a quick firebolt right at Unulus' face, causing the cyclop to let out an angry groan.

And in response to Spyro's attack, Unulus traced his falchion through the air in front of him, creating a vibrant slash of purple energy, which shot through the air, aimed directly at Spyro's face. However, reacting in time, Spyro ducked out of the way and then pounced at Unulus, knocking him on his back and against the floor, making him lose his grip on his falchion and become incapacitated.

"That's enough!" Spyro roared at the cyclop beneath him. "You lost, so just call your goons off!" He demanded, throwing daggers at Unulus with a fierce glare.

The cyclop chieftain glared back, rage and frustration boiling in his dark, purple eye. He also struggled, mustering what seemed like all his strength into getting himself free. But, Spyro summoned all his strength as well. He was more determined to stop Unulus than the cyclop was to keep fighting. The purple dragons subdued the gangly cyclop, preventing him from moving or attacking.

And so, afer one last desperate struggle, Unulus slowly seemed to give up, settling down and closing his eye. "Fine, you win. You've bested me." He muttered, defeated. At this, Spyro was a little taken back. He never though Unulus would be such a good loser.

"And we have a winner, ladies and gentlemen!" Pandergast's voice cheered, causing the whole audience to cheer thunderously. "And it is none other than the absolutely outstanding, olympian-level, Battlebrawl arena extraordinaire, Spyroooo the purple dragoooon!" Pandergast cheered.

"Now, before anyone leaves their seats," Shellshock began warningly, cutting off Pandergast's cheer. "We should confirm there is no threat from out very insistent cyclop sponsor's friends." He stated.

Spyro was about to make Unulus call off his hidden shooters, but before he could, he heard a loud blast, like a miniature explosion in the distance. The sound was followed, after a few short moments, by another sound, identical to the first, just seemingly coming from a diferent tower. Then, after another pause, yet another explosive sound came from yet another spotlight tower.

And then, there was another pause, longer and more dire than the previous ones. Spyro was on edge, for he had no idea of what or who had caused those explosive sounds.

However, the purple dragon's doubts were answered when one final explosion sounded, this one much closer than the rest, so close actually, Spyro was able to feel a small wave of heat spread through his back.

Spyro then turned around to see what had caused the explosion. To his very pleasant surprise, Spyro turned around to find none other than Sunburn standing proudly over three, unconscious white-robed cyclops at the center of a small scorched crater. That would mean that the red, bird-like dragon had teleported around, picking off the cyclop wizards to pile them all up here.

"Well! It would see there is no longer any threat everyone," Shellshock's magnified voice announced as Sunburn dusted himself off.

"Which means!" Pandergast interrupted energetically. "That tonight's game has ended with an absolutely spectacular finale!" He preached "The fights, the thrills! For both audience and competitors! Amazing, simply amazing!" He said with great showmanship. "The winner can come claim his prize at the brand new, stadium gift shop!" Pandergast announced, making Spyro consider visiting the little shop.

"Spyro!" Sunburn called as he trotted over to Spyro, drawing his attention.

"Sunburn! Are you alright?" Spyro responded. "How are the others!?" He asked in concern.

"They're fine," Sunburn stated calmly. "We were all a little riled up with the sudden cyclop attack. The rest actually had to stop me from jumping out to help you." He admitted with a shamed chuckle as he scratched the back of his head.

"I wouldn't have put that past you." Spyro replied jokingly, getting another chuckle out of Sunburn.

"I should probably lump this guy with the rest," Sunburn suggested, gesturing at Unulus, who was still laying motionless beneath Spyro. "You know, so he doesn't try anything."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Spyro agreed, stepping off Unulus slowly, allowing Sunburn to pick him up by his shoulders and start dragging him back

"Hey!" A familiar voice shouted from behind Spyro, making him turn around.

Zap was rushing toward Spyro and Sunburn, with Bash following behind him. As the two dragons approached Spyro, he noticed they were a little battered. There were no serious injuries visible on either dragon, just a couple of scrapes and very light bruises.

"Heya man!" Zap began as he came to a stop in front of Spyro. "You took that one-eyed jerk _out_!" He entonated.

"That was an impressive display." Bash admitted. "You're tougher than I thought."

"Well I couldn't have done it without you guys," Spyro replied. "You keep all the other baddies off my back long enough to finish this. Thank you." He said, giving the two dragons a small head bow.

The two were evidently taken back by this. Both of them took a step back from Spyro and gave him a wide eyed look.

"D-Don't mention it, dude." Zap said nervously while Bash simply averted his eyes.

"Well, I guess I have to go now," Spyro picked up. "We have to return to the Academy, get back to Skylander-ing, you know." He said casually.

"Oh! Right!" Zap reacted. "You do have to do that, hehe." He stammered.

"Alright then," Spyro picked up. "Until we meet again." He finished, giving the dragon duo a firm, respectful nod.

Then, without saying another word, Spyro turned around, gesturing at Sunburn who had remained silently watching the exchange, to follow him.

When Sunburn caught up with Spyro, he looked a little confused, something he expressed to his friend. "Why didn't you call in the bet?" Sunburn questioned. "You won the tournament, they should be following you now."

"We called it off." Spyro explained simply. "We figured stopping Unulus was more important than some bet, so… we'll just have to wait for some other time." He said with a small sight, thinking ahead, about the day he could face off with those two in a fight.

However, as it was, that day seemed far away to Spyro, but it didn't matter, not right now. Spyro had a whole new load of things to do. He had to cash in on his brand new reward, put Unulus and his goons in Cloudcracker Prison and train a new batch of dragons into Skylanders. Besides, Cynder and his friends should be worrying about him by this point, he wouldn't want to upset them, they were his friends after all.

* * *

Spyro was in the gift shop, surrounded by Whirlwind, Sunburn, Camo and Drobot. All five dragons were looking down at the peculiar object in Spyro's right paw. It had been handed to him by a mabu attendant in the gift shop.

The item was slightly smaller than Spyro's paw. It was a triangular sapphire, colored blue, deep as the ocean and carved flawlessly. However, the detail that caught Spyro's eye the most, were the two elegant butterfly wings that were sprouting from the gem's surface, which fluttered, as if the gem was alive and could fly off.

"What is it?" Spyro asked in an absent voice, not able to get his eyes of the peculiar object.

"It's called a winged sapphire," Cam stated. "They are super-duper rare. I actually don't know what they're for, just that they are really valuable." He explained.

"I suppose it's a fitting prize for this game then." Drobot said, unable to pry his eyes from the odd gem.

"Alright, enough," Spyro declared shaking his head to focus and put the sapphire away. "The guys here promised to give Unulus and his goons up to justice, so that means we're supposed to be going to the Academy." He explained.

At that, the other four dragons stepped back, allowing Spyro to start searching for an exit from the gift shop. After scanning the area briefly, Spyro found a simple exit that led out of the stadium.

After telling his friends about the exit, Spyro proceeded to walk toward it, hearing his friends close behind him. When Spyro crossed out through the exit, he was able to see the dead, grey sky of the Outlands, glooming over what seemed like a supercharger scrapyard, fashioned into a poor excuse for an exit trail for the gift shop. The rusty supercharger bits and parts were piled up in such a way that they created a weiding road that Spyro guessed eventually led to the main plaza.

"Well, I'm too beaten up to fly through this," Spyro said deflatedly. "Who wants to take the scenic route?" He asked, forcing a smile and gesturing at the scrapyard trail.

"Me, me!" Camo volunteered excitedly.

"I wouldn't mind a walk." Sunburn stated.

"Maybe I could find some useful parts in there." Drobot said, looking at the supercharger scrap.

"I like scenic routes." Whirlwind voiced quietly.

"Well alright then," Spyro began. "Let's get goin-"

"Wait!" A familiar voice shouted, making Spyro look behind his friends, at the gift shop exit.

There, Spyro saw Zap, followed by Bash, walking toward him. Zap looked exhausted, as he had run a very big distance at full speed. He actually had to take a breather in front of everyone, wheezing loudly and doing the "time out" gesture with his paws all while Bash, who looked just fine, watched in disapproving silence.

Meanwhile Spyro and the others waited in confusion for Zap to recuperate, all silently wandering why the dragon duo had returned so suddenly.

After a few moments, when Zap finally caught his breath, they received their answer. "Spyro!" Zap called in an overly loud tone.

"Yeah, Zap?" Spyro responded nervously.

"We wanna… tag along…" Zap panted. "You guys…"

"Look, I think I'm going to do the talking here." Bash interjected, shoving Zap aside and clearing his throat. "Spyro." He called.

"Yeah, Bash?" Spyro responded again, hoping Bash could articulate a little better than Zap.

"We want to join up." Bash declared firmly. "We want to be Skylanders."

"Really now?" Sunburn interjected suddenly, preventing Spyro from responding. "You two weren't so on board with that idea a few hours ago, what happened?" He asked mockingly.

At that, Bash growled and gave Sunburn an angry stare. "After speaking and fighting beside Spyro," Bash began. "I actually had a couple of reasons, but now, I have one more," He stated. "To prove I can do it better than you, _bird-brain_." He snapped.

After this, Sunburn started growling back at Bash, tension building quickly between the two. Which naturally made Spyro step in and get in the middle of the two.

"Alright guys, let's calm down." Spyro said in a serene tone, trying to soothe the two dragons.

"Yeah guys, lets not fight." Whirlwind tried helping.

"There would be no point in it either. I'd just be stupid." Drobot added, also trying to help defuse the situation.

On the other hand, the fact Camo was whispering _"Fight, fight, fight."_ Under his breath was not helping.

However, with the insistence of their peers, Bash and Sunburn seemed to calm down, reducing themselves to just scoff and look away from each other.

"Thanks guys, real mature." Spyro said scolding. "But now, Bash, Zap. Are you guys serious? You really want to become Skylanders too?" He asked, giving the two dragons a very serious look.

"Of course!" Zap responded, apparently finally recovering his breath. "I mean, after all-"

"-We have a bet to settle." Bash finished, giving Spyro a stern look and smile, like the one he had given him before they entered the arena.

At that, Spyro suddenly felt like any shade of doubt was expelled from him. He couldn't fully explain why, but he felt like the blue and brown dragons weren't joking around.

"Alright then." Spyro began, smiling broadly. "Let's get going people!"

And so, Spyro began to walk down the scrapyard trail with his companions behind him. As the now seven dragons proceed through the trail, they eventually reached a strange sort of midpoint in the scrapyard trail. It was a large, semi-circular island which had a large clearing for, Spyro guessed, people to look out into the gloomy horizon of the Outlands. There were a couple of small piles of scrap here and there, as well as a few puddles of muddy water but the island was mostly plain and trail continued on the other end of the island, where the scrap piled up into makeshift walls once again.

Meanwhile, the dragons all talked to each other, getting to know their future Skylander teammates. As Spyro walked, he turned his head back to see what his friends were up to. He could overhear Camo bombard Bash with a seemingly endless stream of questions, all the way from what his favourite color to whether he had any phobias. Bash however managed to keep himself from speaking, or sitting on top of Camo, who was three times smaller than Bash.

Zap actually seemed to find interest in Drobot, asking him about his metallic appendages, a subject of conversation Drobot was more than happy to indulge.

Meanwhile Sunburn kept his distance from Bash, giving him a narrow eyed look, apparently still not quite trusting of him. And Whirlwind, she stayed quiet, looking around absentmindedly, apparently enjoying the view.

The sight made Spyro feel happy. Most of his memories of these dragons were usually filed with black shadows and expressionless glowing eyes. And what really bummed Spyro out was that he had seen them as enemies for quite some time, as the Knights of Solitude.

But now, seeing them all together, sporing their true colors, being themselves, it made Spyro feel warm inside, unable to hold back a mellow smile.

But then Spyro heard a voice speak. "Hey, there…" The voice called innocently.

It was a woman's voice. It spoke with a small hint of elegance and pose, but it sounded strange, wrong. It sounded like a dead person speaking, and just hearing it made Spyro get goosebumps.

After a bit, Spyro turned around, to see where the voice was coming from. When he did, he saw a tall figure, standing at the other end of the island, blocking their path through the scrapyard trail. It wearing a large, word-down, greyed out cloak which covered it's face.

"Spyro?" The purple dragon heard his name called by Whirlwind. "Who is that?" She asked nervously.

"H-Hey." Spyro called back, trying to speak steadily, addressing the cloaked figure. "What's up?" He tried asking casually.

At that, the figure didn't respond, not in any way. It remained silent, unmoving, completely unmoving. Spyro couldn't even tell if the figure was breathing. However, after a moment, the figure began to shift and took a step forward toward the dragons... and then another… and another.

When the figure did this, Spyro felt a wave of biting cold wash over him, making him let out a gasp. When he did, Spyro saw his own breath puff out of his mouth. It was not this cold before, it had gotten cold, because of the figure's approach. Spyro also noticed that the small, muddy puddles on the floor of the island had completely frozen over, also affected by the hooded figure's presence.

"Spyrooo?" Camo called, fright clearly in his voice. "What's going on?"

"Hey!" Spyro yelled, the pain from the cruel cold getting him on edge. "Who are you!?" He demanded. "What do you want!?"

"Oh…" The figure let out, suddenly coming to a stop. "I'm sorry… I haven't… introduced myself." The figure stated, lifting one of its arms under its cloak to scratch its concealed head. "I suppose a hundred years in the Outlands can take a toll on a person's social skills."

At that, Spyro felt a drop of cold sweat start to trail down his temple. _"A hundred years? In the_ Outlands _?"_ He thought in disbelief. There was no way someone could live for that long, not in the Outlands. But, as unbelievable as it sounded, something told Spyro it was true, a grim premonition, as if something in the dark corners of his mind was screaming out, warning him about this figure.

"In any case…" The figure picked up, making Spyro focus on it just out of the horrible chills he got from hearing it's voice again.

"My name is Vixen Reynald… and I am here to _slay_ you."

* * *

 _Author's notes_

 _Heya it's me again. New chapter ready and as alwways more coming! Now I wanted to take some requests. Since the cast is going to be geting a whole lot bigger, does anyone wanna see more of a certain caracter? Tell me if this is the case and I'll see if I can give them more lines or scenes. But anyway. Till next time!_

 _-_ I still don't own Skylanders Academy

-Unulus defeated! Is this the end of the One-Eyed Legion?

-All the Knights, together once again, but under a new banner! A new team of heros rises!

-... And a villian to match them? The cold air of death surrounds their mysterious new enemy...


	6. Chapter 6

**Skylanders Academy: Song of the Hunt**

by andresponce2002

 **Chapter 6) The Old Song**

"Sorry, did you just say you were going to kill us!?" Spyro asked in disbelief, taking a step back and stretching his wings defensively, covering his companions behind him.

"No, I didn't." Vixen's dead voice replied. "I said I was going to _slay_ you." She corrected.

"What's the difference?" Spyro asked, tensing up.

"Well, I don't know," Vixen began, taking one of her hands to her concealed chin, as if she was thinking. "I suppose dragon _killer_ just doesn't have the same ring to it."

At that, Spyro froze, not from the cruel cold that seemed to come from the cloaked figure, but out of surprise at what it said. "You… you're a _dragon slayer_?" Spyro asked, stammering from the cold and growing fright he was feeling.

"Quite right." Vixen replied, casually, as if it weren't that big a deal.

Spyro had never heard of a dragon slayer before. He had never heard Master Eon, or anyone else speak of them and he never found a single passage in any book about them. And yet, there was one standing in front of him right now, only a few meters away, who had just set eyes on him.

"You've got quite a circus show behind you, boy," Vixen said suddenly, noticing Spyro's friends. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to slay them too." She threatened.

"You're not going to do that." Spyro replied, trying to sound brave. However, his voice came out strained, shaky from the cold. If he were Vixen, he would not have been intimidated.

"Oh really?" Vixen asked in an amused tone, taking another step closer to the seven dragons, making the cold Spyro was feeling even worse. "I take it you're going to do something? Other than shake in your little scales, right?" She spat, chuckleing mockingly.

Spyro mustered his courage. As frightened as he was, even if he couldn't explain why, he managed to stay his fear for a moment, a single moment. And in that moment, Spyro called forth his flames, from deep within his chest he released a stream of orange fire at the cloaked figure.

The heat from Spyro's flames overwhelmed the cold he was feeling. As he continued breathing his stream of brilliant fire, Spyro slowly felt more and more confident, less and less afraid. By the time his flames gave out, Spyro was out of breath, but he felt satisfied.

The horrible cold Vixen was emitting had dispersed and where she used to stand, a thick stream of smoke now rose up to the dark gray sky.

"Whoa." Camo's squeaky voice sounded behind Spyro. "That was awesome." He cheered.

"Who was that freak?" Zap demanded. "She was giving off some seriously bad vives. Like, _the_ worst vives!" He exclaimed.

"She claimed to be a dragon slayer." Drobot interjected. "I've never heard of such a profession. The very thought of it makes me sick."

"You and me both buddy." Spyro agreed, grateful such a malevolent presence was not a threat anymore.

"Was that really necessary?" A voice said, spreading cold through Spyro's body as it's words reached his ears. _"I was starting to like that coat."_ She added in a lower voice, sounding like a mutter.

Spyro felt himself start shaking again, for he knew whose voice that was. He didn't want to look at where the voice was coming from, because he knew what he was going to see. But he couldn't help it.

When Spyro turned to look, he saw that the pillar of smoke his flames had created was dissipating, revealing Vixen's strange figure. Spyro noticed the grey cloak previously covering Vixen was mostly burned away. Only enough grey cloth to cover her right shoulder and arm, as well as her back, remained. The tattered cloth was burning slowly, yet it didn't seem to trouble the dragon slayer.

Vixen was tall, a head taller than Master Eon. She was also well built, muscular at the arms. She wore a rusty, blue metal chestplate, above an extremely ragged brown tunic. She wore a yellow rope belt and had slightly puffed cyan shorts. Her arms, legs and mid-rif were covered in tattered greyish bandages, which all had faded dark red stains. She also wore a strange, dark brown bracer, with golden linings on her right forearm. The bracer seemed to have a fine string attached to it, which connected to small black ring on Vixen's pinky finger.

The dragons slayer also carried two swords, both at opposite sides of her hips, tied around her belt. The handles were dark, icy blue and the blade of each weapon was concealed in a black scabbard, which had strange, icy blue carvings that looked like a web of cracks.

She had a canine head, like Wolfgang, the werewolf Doom Raider. But her features were slimer, more angular, more akin to those of a fox more so than to those of a wolf. She had long, triangular ears, which stood on end. Her right ear was missing it's tip, and looked very badly scarred in comparison to her left ear. She also had snow-white fur, which Spyro could only see exposed on her head, left hand and her feet. She had long, greasy, very pale blond hair, which fell over her shoulders and covered her right eye, leaving only her left eye exposed.

When Spyro looked at her eye, he felt a stab of cold. It was sharper and more focused than the cold Vixen's aura seemed to merely project. The part of Vixen's eye that should have been white, was pitch black instead, which outlined her eye against her white fur. Her iris was red, not cherry red like Camo's or Zap's, not fiery red like Bash's or Spyro's. It was blood red, dark and deep, contrasting sinisterly with the blackness that surrounded it. But there was something off, other than the disturbing color scheme.

When Spyro looked at peoples' eyes, he could always see a sort of glint. A shimmering light behind their eyes that showed they were real, that they were alive. I didn't matter who it was, whether it was a friend or an enemy, Spyro could see that light, that proof that they were in fact, a person.

Vixen was not the case. Her eye was dark, glassy and inexpressive. Her pupil, which was a tiny dot of black, loathsome nothingness, was unmoving, undilating in the slightest, like a miniature black hole, staring right at Spyro. Vixen had the eye of a dead person, of a corpse, and it made Spyro shiver just looking at it.

"Now then," Vixen picked up, making Spyro flinch. "I haven't done this in a hundred years, so if you could do me a favor…" She paused, gripping the smoldering remains of her gray cloak, revealing what part of her body remained concealed as she tore off her cloak. "Try not to die too quickly."

When Spyro laid eyes on what the remains of Vixen's cloak concealed, his heart stopped for a second, and blood left his face, leaving behind an expression of pure horror. Because on Vixen's right shoulder, was a purple shoulder cape. At first glance, it shouldn't have been something to scare Spyro. But, as he took a closer look, Spyro noticed that the shade of purple on the cape was the exact same as his scales, that there was a strange leathery texture to the cape itself.

That's when it hit him. Vixen had already killed a purple dragon before him, and she had turned their skin into a cape as a heinous decoration, a trophy.

That made Spyro's heart start to race, he started to breath faster too, hyperventilating. He knees started getting wobbly as he took a step back from Vixen, and then another, all while a voice in his head screamed. _"Run! Run away!"_

Spyro never remembered feeling this frightened before. Not with Malefor, not with Strykore, not even with Omen.

"Spyro? What do we do?" Drobot called, fear smeared in his voice. Spyro noticed that the coppey green dragon was slowly stepping back from Vixen, shaking and breathing heavily.

"I'm not going to stay idle," Bash declared. "If this creep wants a fight, she's getting one!" At that, Spyro saw Bash charge past him, straight at Vixen.

"Bash wait!" Zap yelled, concerned for his friend-

But Bash didn't stop. He kept charging, closing in on Vixen fast. Spyro noticed the dragon slayer had show very little reaction to the brown dragon's charge, even as Bash got close enough for a melee attack.

Once Bash had gotten close enough, he began to swirl clockwise, getting momentum and swinging his very spiky tail through the air. Then, in a powerful impact, Bash's tail slammed against Vixen's head, getting her off her balance and making her take a few steps back and to the side, disoriented by Bash's attack.

After this, Bash slowly took a couple of steps back, still weary of the dragon slayer.

Vixen's head, and her torso were pointing to her left and her hair was blocking her face, making it difficult to see what condition she was in after Bash's attack. However after a few seconds, she started to move, slowly turning back to the dragons.

Her face, was fine. No blood or damage, except for the fact her whole jaw was hanging slack from her mouth, like a zombie's. The sight made Spyro gag in disgust.

Vixen however, didn't seem to alarmed by her dislodged jaw. She looked down at it, raised her eyebrows in an unimpressed fashion and just said. "Huh."

After this, the dragon slayer grabbed her slack jaw and, after a series of disgusting noises of bones creaking and flesh churning, Vixen relocated her jaw to its original spot. After opening and closing her mouth a couple of times, Vixen contently confirmed her wound had healed, despite its severity and very simplistic handling.

"Alright." Vixen picked up suddenly. "My turn."

At that, Vixen griped one of her sword handles, stepped forward with blinding speed and in one single motion, drew her sword and slashed it across Bash's face, creating a strange sound, like glass shattering.

It happened so fast, Spyro had barely absorbed the details. Vixen's sword, was a glowing, icy blue blade. It expelled a faint white mist as it moved through the air. When the blade collided with Bash's head, it shattered, into a million icy shards, explaining the strange sound Spyro had heard.

After this, Bash stumbled backwards, disoriented by Vixen's strike. However, the dragon slayer wasn't done. With her other hand, she gripped her second sword, and in a similar motion to the first, she drew and swung it in one movement, this time slashing upwards, hitting Bash's jaw, creating another shattering sound. Afterwards, Bash fell limp on the ground, knocked out at Vixen's feet.

"Bash!" Camo cried, distress and fright in his voice.

"Hey!" Sunburn suddenly shouted. "What did you do to him!?" He demanded angrily.

"Calm down," Vixen began, raising her arms slightly. "He's not dead, that wouldn't have been fun."

"Oh, so you want fun, huh!?" Zap yelled, sounding just as angry as Sunburn. "I'll give you fun!"

At that, Sunburn disappeared in a blast of fiery light and Zap started dashing towards Vixen, using a slimy substance he secreted to slide with great speeds, in order t to make it difficult for Vixen to keep track of him.

Then, with another blast of flames, Sunburn appeared behind Vixen, knocking the dragon slayer off her ballance and making her stumble forward. Taking advantage of this, Zap used his slime to slide close to Vixen and release a stream of yellow lightning at close range, disorienting her. To follow this up, Sunburn released his own breath attack, creating a horizontal pillar of white and yellow flames, aimed to hit Vixen in the back.

But then, Vixen moved, reacting to the incoming attack by grabbing her purple cape and holding it in front of her, covering herself. After she did this, Sunburn's intense flames simply graced the purple cloak, dissipating against it harmlessly. After this, Sunburn let out his attack, seemingly taken back by Vixen's simple counter.

" _So that one teleports,"_ Vixen began muttering in a low tone, apparently speaking to herself, looking at Sunburn while slowly lowering her cape. _"And the other one,"_ She continued, still speaking quietly and turning around to face Zap. _"Is a water dragon._ Alright, I think I remember how to handle you now." She said out loud, smiling. "Want to try again?" She asked, raising her arms, challenging the two dragons.

"Guys, don't do it!" Whirlwind cried. "She's dangerous!"

"We know that!" Sunburn responded. "We're just buying you time! You need to help Bash!" He explained, gesturing at the fallen brown dragon.

At that, Spyro noticed Whirlwind took a hesitant look at Bash, before using her wings to boost herself at the fallen dragon.

"Hey now," Vixen began, her attention now focused on Whirlwind. "Don't think I'm gonna let you do that." She said maliciously. _"That one… doesn't have any scales? That's weird."_ She muttered to herself, giving Whirlwind a curious look.

At that, Vixen moved as if she was about to draw one of her swords from their scabbards. This confused Spyro, because he remembered the dragon slayer's blades had shattered when she swung them at Bash.

But then, to Spyro's dreadful surprise, he saw Vixen draw and immediately throw a brand new icy sword, identical to the other two she had used. This sword flew through the air like a projectile and as Spyro followed it's trajectory, he saw it hit Whirlwind in the side. After this, the sword shattered like the others, but not before knocking Whirlwind out of the air, making her crash on the muddy floor.

"Whirlwind!" Sunburn and Zap cried out in unison as they saw the cyan dragoness fall.

"That's it!" Sunburn roared. "I won't let you keep hurting them!" He declared. At that, Spyro saw Sunburn disappear in a fiery blast, ready to attack Vixen once again.

However, in response to this Vixen turned around, and tensed up her left hand, as if she was waiting to catch something. And then, when a blast of bright flames erupted in front of Vixen, the dragon slayer lunged her hand forward with explosive speed through the dissipating flames.

Vixen then pulled her hand back, for she had caught Sunburn and was gripping him tightly by the neck. Sunburn's face expressed pure shock. His eyes were wide and his pupils were dilated. The red dragon was also gasping for breath and squirming wildly, trying to get loose from Vixen's grip.

"You're not the first teleporting dragon I've faced," Vixen said to Sunburn. "And honestly, you guys get very boring very fast." She finished, squeezing Sunburn's neck hard, making the bird-like dragon's eyes roll back into his head and his body go limp. As if this weren't bad enough, Spyro saw Vixen somehow draw another sword from one of her black scabbards and slash Sunburn across with it, only for the blade to shatter afterwards like the rest.

At that, something inside Spyro snaped. He had been paralyzed under Vixen's terrifying presence, but now, seeing his friends getting hurt, it made a great fire boil within him, unmaking the effects of the dragon slayer's presence. Spyro felt a surge of heat flow through him, making the cruel cold fade once again from his body.

Then, Spyro started running, running at full speed, straight at Vixen. As he did, Spyro lowered his head, ready to ram his enemy and orange flames began to erupt around his horns. However these flames were much larger and more intense than normal. They left a fiery trial through the air as Spyro charged.

Then, when the purple dragon got close enough, he lept in the air and rammed head first into Vixen. The impact created a small, yet intense fiery blast. It was so powerful it not only made Vixen let go of Sunburn, but it sent the dragon slayer sprawling back to crash on the ground.

"Woah." Zap's voice began from behind Spyro. "That was impressive." He said, waking up beside Spyro and entering a defensive stance.

"Yeah, it was!" Vixen agreed, grunting as she tried getting back up on her feet, mere seconds after Spyro's attack landed, shocking the dragons with how durable the dragon slayer was. "That was as good a _comet dash_ as I've seen, kid," Vixen said to Spyro, confusing him by naming his attack for him. "However, I have to say… you walk funny." She said, tilting her head, pointing at Spyro and giving Spyro an analytic look. "You weren't adopted were you?" She asked suddenly.

At that, Spyro's eyes went round. "How in the Underworld did you know that?" He asked, certain he hadn't said or done anything to reveal that information to Vixen.

"Oh well," Vixen started, smiling a disturbing smile which revealed her sharp, yellowish fangs. "I suppose you could say, I'm really good at my job." She answered vaguely. "Now then," She picked up. "I still have to slay you and your friends," She said in a casual, relaxed tone. "So get ready… because this is going to hurt."

At that, Vixen charged at Spyro and Zap running at great speeds. In response to this, Spyro used his wings to boost himself off the ground to avoid getting into close quarters with the dragon slayer. Meanwhile, Zap used his slime to slide to his left. After this, the blue dragon began to slide around Vixen, getting ready to find an opening to attack.

In response to this, Vixen came to an abrupt stop, standing in place with both dragons surrounding her.

"She's open!" Zap shouted. "Light her up Spyro!" He added as he began using his wings to speed up, sliding even faster than before to catch Vixen unprepared.

At that, Spyro began to call forth his flames. He held his breath, readying as powerful a firebolt as he could muster.

But then, something happened. Vixen moved as if to grab both her swords out of their black scabbards, despite Spyro remembering the dragon slayer already breaking her weapons beforehand. But once again, Vixen pulled put two identical icy blue swords and with astounding coordination, the dragon slayer threw both of them at Spyro and Zap.

The first sword to hit its mark was aimed at Zap's feet. The blue blade landed on the slime-covered ground just between Zap's legs, shattering in an cold burst. When this happened, the slime Zap was sliding on suddenly froze over and caused the blue dragon to lose balance and slip, landing roughly on the ground, letting out a pained groan.

The second sword was aimed at Spyro and it moved too fast for the purple dragon to dodge.

As the balde reached him, Spyro felt the tip of the blade crumble, allowing the rest of the blade to break and hit him with several tiny shards. The attack landed in a very specific spot. It was right between his stomach and his lungs. When this happened, Spyro felt like his lungs gave out, spazzing out and yelling out in pain. This caused all the fire he had been holding his breath for, to just dissipate as the purple dragon let out a harsh, uneven cough.

The second thing he felt was cold, as if someone had poured an entire bucket of iced water over his chest. It felt horrible and coupled with the effect of the impact from Vixen's sword, Spyro fell down, crashing with a low thund on the ground beneath him.

Once he was on the floor, Spyro groaned as he tried to get on his feet. But the pain in his chest and the hideous, biting cold that was slowly gaining more and more ground on his body, made him shiver and shake, only to end up falling back down.

"Spyro!" He heard his name called. He managed to tell that the voice belonged to Drobot.

The coppery green dragon hadn't moved a muscle since the whole fight had started. He looked at Spyro with a frightened, desperate expression. "Spyro, please get up!" He cried.

"Hey, nerd dragon," Vixen called suddenly, getting Drobot's attention. "Are you going to let your fellow lizards die? I don't really mind if you leave, I'm just going to find you latter. There's nowhere in the Skylands you could hide from me." She said in a disturbingly calm tone. _"What kind of breed are you anyway?"_ She muttered to herself, scratching her chin as she did. _"Those attachments make it hard to tell."_

At that, Drobot took a whimpering step back. He was shaking, head to toes. Apparently, Spyro wasn't the only one affected by Vixen's terrifying presence. But then, Spyro noticed that Drobot slowly started to look around, shifting his head to focus on diferent things across the isle they were on.

Spyro followed Drobot's gaze as the coppery green dragon shifted in his place. He first looked at Bash, laying down on his belly. He then looked over to Whirlwind, who was curled up around her injured side. And then, he looked at Sunburn, who was laying down on his back. All three dragons were unconscious, defeated and for a second Spyro felt like Drobot was going to break under pressure at the sight of his companions defeated.

But, as Spyro looked back at Drobot, he saw that the dragon was no longer shaking, or at least not as violently as before. Drobot then turned to look at Vixen, his lip no longer trembling as he clenched his teeth.

Then, Spyro saw as Drobot let out a loud battle cry, stretching out his wings and raising his head, as if to imbue himself with courage. Then Drobot began charging at Vixen, keeping his body low and moving in a zig-zag pattern.

Vixen meanwhile, looked amused at Drobot's attack. The dragon slayer had done little to prepare a defence, other than to reach to grab yet another sword. Spyro was about to let out a cry of warning for Drobot, recalling the dragon slayer's terrifying accuracy.

But then, Spyro saw as a blue shape suddenly leap onto Vixen's back, making her stumble forward and lose her focus on Drobot.

Upon closer inspection, Spyro was able to identify the blue shape as Zap, who was clinging onto Vixen's back and neck. "Drobot!" Zap shouted. "Do it!" He commanded.

At that, Drobot interrupted his charge, standing a few meters away from Vixen. There, Drobot swayed his head back and then forward, firing two orange laser beams which struck Vixen square in the chest.

Drobot didn't let up his attack, his orange beams burning into Vixen as Zap held her in place. Spyro actually started feeling hope as he witnessed his friends pulling out impressive teamwork which actually seemed to hurt Vixen, making her let out strained groans.

But then, Vixen reached for her back, where Zap was. She took a hold of the back of the blue dragon's neck and then tugged him off her back and then slammed him on the floor. Once Zap was on the floor, Vixen pulled out another icy sword, raising it over her head and then driving it down hard on Zap's chest, making the blue dragon bend over in pain and let out a wounded groan.

"Zap!" Drobot exclaimed, cutting off his laser beam attack out of pure shock.

This however, allowed Vixen to grab another one of her seemingly endless swords. The dragon slayer then drew her weapon and flung it at Drobot in a single motion. The icy blade flew through the air and hit Drobot right between the eyes, shattering in an impact that made the coppery green dragon fall on his back, motionless.

"Drobot!" Spyro shouted, trying to get himself up, trying hard to power through the cold, through the pain, through his fear.

But just as Spyro stood up, he felt Vixen's fist slam against the bridge of his nose. after this, Spyro felt himself fall back down, the taste of iron in his mouth and his vision blurry from his now apparently watery eyes. Then, Spyro felt a cold, stiff hand slowly grab the back of his neck. It felt like a block of ice, was slowly squeezing him and lifting him off the ground.

After a moment, Spyro found himself face-to-face with Vixen. The dragon slayer was looking at him with her sinister dead eye, tilting her head as if to get a better look at him.

She then squinted her eye, and leaned in closer to Spyro, so much so he could smell her breath. It smelled like rotten, buried, decomposing filth and it hurt Spyro's nose to smell. But, after a few seconds of this close-up inspection, Vixen's eye went round as she slowly backed away from Spyro's face.

"You're an Adiaperst." Vixen said simply, a smile tugging at her lips. "How interesting."

At that, Spyro's mind went on a trip to memory lane. The purple dragon remembered getting lost in a cave which had turned out to be some sort of purple dragon temple. In that place, Spyro learned more about his dragon kind than he could have ever imagined. He learned he was an Adiaperst, a special kind of purple dragon, gifted with impenetrable scales. He didn't even know that Adiapersts were a thing among purple dragons, much less that he was one of them.

However, this only made Spyro feel more shock and disbelief. Because Vixen figured out what he wa by just looking a little closely at his scales. How was it possible for this villian to know so much about him if they've never met before?

Before he could get an answer, Spyro saw a s Vixen suddenly looked to her side, facing away from Spyro. The dragon slayer then started sniffing the air like a bloodhound, as if she was searching for something.

 _"Where did the little green one go?"_ Vixen muttered, taking a look around, almost forgetting Spyro.

Vixen's commentary made Spyro suddenly become aware of the fact that Camo was missing. The little green dragon had disappeared since the beginning of the fight. _"Did he run away?"_ Spyro thought to himself as he scanned the area, indeed finding no trace of Camo. As things were now, Spyro wondered if it was for the best that Camo had run away, seeing as neither he or the other dragons could deal any lasting damage to Vixen.

Then, Spyro saw Vixen sniff the air again, closing her visible eye as if to focus. After a few seconds, Vixen's eye opened suddenly, indicating she had found something. "Wait here." Vixen then said to Spyro.

At that, Spyro felt Vixen land a heavy punch, right in the area between his stomach and his lungs, right where she had struck him with one of her swords. The blow made Spyro's lungs give out again, sending waves of cramp-like pain through his chest, making him let out a sharp, uneven exhale as the air was driven out of him by Vixen's punch.

But then, Vixen punched him again, in the same spot, sending another wave of pain through him. And then, Spyro felt as a third blow landed with almost surgical precision, on the exact same spot as the last two, making Spyro let out a pained, yet breathless gasp.

After this, Spyro felt Vixen's cold hand let go of his neck, allowing him to fall on the ground, where he laid, in too much pain to move and with black spots slowly popping in and out of his field of vision. The horrible sensation made him feel drowsy, like he wanted to pass out.

Spyro then saw Vixen take a couple of steps around, turning and shifting her head, as if she was searching for something she had lost sight of. Spyro deduced she was looking for Camo. However, remembering the small dragon's ability to camouflage, Spyro felt a small spark of hope at the thought of Camo escaping to get help.

Spyro noticed Vixen started to step away from him, turning her back to him as she walked over to Bash, who was still knocked out, in search of Camo.

"Spyro," A very low and very shaky whisper sounded beside Spyro. "W-What are we going to d-do?" Camo's voice asked, sounding terrified. Spyro couldn't see Camo beside him, and figure the green dragon must still be invisible.

"Get out of here, Camo." Spyro whispered back, keeping his eyes on Vixen, who was now focused on Sunburn's fallen figure, still turning her back to Spyro and Camo. "Go get help, quickly, before she notices you."

"I heard that!" Vixen suddenly declared, making Spyro freeze as panic began to spread through him.

The purple dragon heard his green friend let out a frightened whimper as Vixen began walking toward them in a brisk pace. Once she was standing but a foot away from Spyro, the dragon slayer came to a stop. She then kneeled down to what would have been Camo's eye level and slowly stretched out her left arm in front of her, reaching out for Camo.

Neither Vixen nor Camo made a sound, leaving Spyro listening eagerly, hoping with all his heart that Camo could escape.

"Where are you?" Vixen asked the wind, leaning in closer to where Spyro had heard Camo's voice come from. "Where. Are. You?" She repeated, slowly and in a creepier voice, attempting to unnerve Camo into revealing where he was.

And to Spyro's very dreadful surprise, Vixen succeeded. Spyro heard Camo let out a panicked cry. "Stay away from me!" He screamed, suddenly letting up his camouflage and trying to run away, using his wings to flee up into the air.

But Spyro already knew what was going to happen. He had already seen Vixen handle this before with his other friends. The dragon slayer griped one of her sword scabbards and like she had done before, she drew her sword, only to launch it with terrifying accuracy at Camo.

Spyro tried getting up and turning around, putting all his strength into it. "Camo!" He shouted as he managed to see the precise moment when Vixen's sword hit it's mark, causing Camo to plummet back down to the island. "No!" Spyro cried, trying to get on his feet.

Before he could stand, Spyro felt one of Vixen's feet stomp on his back, forcing him back down. "There you are!" Vixen said cheerfully as she stepped over Spyro and walked over to Camo.

Vixen then picked up Camo by the back of the neck, just like she had done with little green dragon hung rather limply from Vixen's grip and was giving her a pleading look, with watery eyes. The dragon slayer gave Camo a wide smile as she pet him with her free hand, making him squirm.

"Oh, I love forest dragons." Vixen admitted in a mellow tone, petting Camo's head softly, almost innocently. "Their bones make such funny noises when they break." She added, suddenly moving her hand from Camo's head to one of his wings, gripping it tightly.

Spyro then felt his heart start racing, because he felt like he knew what was about to happen. He saw tears start to trail down Camo's cherry eyes and that he started whimpering. "No, no, no… please don't… please…" He begged, hanging his head.

Spyro tried to call forth his flames, desperate to try anything to help his friend. But, when Spyro opened his mouth to launch a firebolt at Vixen, nothing came out, except a harsh cough that made his throat sore. The pain in his lungs prevented him from breathing fire, which made Spyro wander if Vixen's punched were calculated.

And so, Spyro was left powerless as he saw a cruel, deranged smile spread through Vixen's face as she started putting pressure on her hold on Camo's wing. Then, Spyro saw the dragon slayer jerk Camo's wing in a quick, violent motion which was followed by a gut-wrenching snapping sound. It made Spyro shut his eyes close.

Spyro then heard a scream of agony, hideous and prolonged. The screaming then regressed into ugly sobbing, after Spyro heard a low thud, indicating Vixen had dropped Camo.

At that, Spyro opened his eyes, black spots shifted around his field of vision, but he could make out his surroundings. He looked over to where Camo previously was. There, he saw the green dragon, curled up in a ball with his face buried in his arms, letting out pained whimpers and sobbing, leaving his broken wing stretched out, probably out of fear of causing himself more pain by moving it.

At the sight, Spyro felt a volcano erupt inside him. "You monster!" Spyro roared, in rage and in regret as he saw his friend wounded so horribly. He tried calling his flames again, a deep burning desire to burn Vixen off the face of the Skylands feeding his flames.

"Monster?" Vixen asked in an almost genuinely offended tone as she shifted her focus from Camo to Spyro.

At that, Spyro took his chance and shot a blazing fireball at Vixen. The projectile hit the dragon slayer right in the face making her let out a pained groan. However, she recovered rather quickly and the biting cold that kept clawing at Spyro's whole body made him unable to launch another attack at Vixen.

Because of this, Vixen walked over to Spyro, grabbing him by the neck once again. This time however, she didn't pick him up. Instead, she turned him over so that he was laying on his back. Then, Vixen loomed over him, holding him in place.

The dragon slayer then leaned down, getting her face closer to Spyro's, making the purple dragon feel uncomfortable and frightened. "I'm not the bad guy here," Vixen whispered. "I'm no more of a monster that you, _dragon_." She added, hissing the last word derisively, the stench of Vixen's breath hurting his nose again, making him turn his head to the side.

"But now is not the time for that conversation," Vixen picked up, leaning away from Spyro's face. "Right now, I want you to tell me… do you think you can escape? Do you think someone is coming to save you?" She asked.

Spyro then looked up at Vixen. The dragon slayer was patiently waiting for an answer. She looked down at him expectantly.

Spyro's mind then started to race, his subconscious desperately looking for scenarios where he could get away, where he could escape Vixen. He thought hard, thinking about if maybe someone passed through this place, they could call help or maybe one of his friends could get up, hit Vixen by surprise and knock her out. Maybe, just maybe, Vixen might just let them go.

But slowly, Spyro realized, there might actually be no way for him to escape this time. The more he thought about ways to escape, the faster he started to panic, because every thought that crossed his head ended in the same place, with the same words. _"You are going to die."_ The thought made Spyro really lose control. He began breathing rapidly, unevenly, cold sweat accumulating on his temples.

Vixen clearly noticed this, because she was smiling, a cruel, amused smile. "You know now, don't you?" She asked slowly. "You know what's going to happen."

Spyro did know. Despite his impenetrable scales he felt in his now panicking heart that Vixen was going to kill him.

"I gotta say," Vixen started up, slowly leaning back down close to Spyro. "Adiaperts are a real bother to slay," She stated. "The impenetrable scales make things, _difficult_." She entonated, giving Spyro a miniscule spark of hope. _"Unless you're me of course."_ Vixen muttered quickly, instantly snuffing out the flicker of hope she had given Spyro.

Then, Spyro saw Vixen ball up her right fist. She then extended only her pinkie finger, the one that had a black ring which was connected to the brown and gold bracer on Vixen's forearm. After this, Vixen did a quick flick of her wrist and then, with a sound like spring loaded trap activating, a silver blade ejected from Vixen's bracer.

The blade was thin and looked extraordinary sharp. It was like an arm-mounted short sword, it's blade was smooth and it shimmered slightly, in a very good shape for a hundred-year-old weapon.

Shortly after this, Vixen spoke up again. "I don't know why no one else seems to know this trick." She said, slowly tracing the tip of her blade across Spyro's scales, making the dragon stay very still, his lower lip trembling and closing his eyes as he tried turning his face away from Vixen. "The eyes are always vulnerable, _always_." She stated.

"Hey, come on, look at me." Vixen said softly, patiently as she grabbed Spyro's face and forced him to face her.

Spyro then felt Vixen move her hand over to his right eye. Then, Using her fingertips, Vixen forced Spyro's eye open, causing the purple dragon to let out a whimper when he saw Vixen slowly trace the tip of her dagger from his scales to hover a few centimeters above his exposed eye.

"Come on now," Vixen began, giving Spyro a disturbing look. Her dead, black and red eye fixated on him, unflinching in the slightest. "I want to hear you say it." She said, moving the tip of her blade a hair's width down closer to Spyro's eye.

At that, Spyro really realized what was going to happen. He started to feel himself tear up, his heart hurt. He was never going to see his friends again. He was never going to play another match of sheep ball again. He would never find his parents and, with a heavy heart he realized, he was never going to hold Cynder in his arms ever again, the picture of the violet dragoness' smile flashing before his eyes.

And so, as tears of pure terror trailed out of his eyes, clouding his vision further, Spyro said the words Vixen wanted to hear. "I… I don't want to die." He said between whimpers.

"Ohhh yesss." Vixen hissed, baring her fangs in a twisted smile. "I love it when they _beg_." She sighed as she pulled her right arm back, raising her blade, ready to bring it down.

But then, Spyro saw something strange happen. He saw a ball of green and black flames crash violently against Vixen's chest, creating a small cloud of smoke as the projectile connected with the dragon slayer. After this, Spyro felt Vixen's weight suddenly be lifted off him. So, taking his opportunity, wiping his tears of his eyes and lifting his head, trying to get a look at Vixen.

The dragon slayer was slowly getting up from the ground, a few feet away from Spyro. She was grumbling something that sounded like _"Why, you little…"_ as she moved her left hand to grab one of her sword scabbards as she shot a murderous glare at someone or something behind Spyro.

But then, Spyro saw another bolt of green flames shot from behind him, hit Vixen once again, this time on her left forearm. When the projectile hit its mark, Spyro saw Vixen's forearm burn slowly. He also noticed that the dragon slayer's hand was now missing, devoured by the green flames.

"Ah," Vixen entonated simply, not apparently minding her burning arm. "An Infernus. How annoying." She said in a plain tone.

Then, Spyro saw Vixen use her silver blade to slice off her own forearm, all the way down to the elbow. With a disgusting slashing sound, Vixens smoldering lump of a forearm fell to the ground, creating a very small thud before being incinerated by the green flames.

"Stay. Away. From him." A slightly raspy, extremely angry voice entonated slowly.

Spyro instantly recognized that voice. Through his fright and the pain from Vixen's previous blows, Spyro managed to smile.

After Spyro heard slow, careful steps approach him, he saw a familiar face loom over his fallen figure. It was the face of a dragon. He had angular features, sharp golden horns and indigo scales. A blood red "A" was over his left eye.

"Heya..." Spyro said weakly, giving Cyrus as strained smile.

"Heya..." Cyrus responded, returning a small, yet warm smile as he looked down at Spyro, his green eyes glistening.

Afterwards, Spyro felt Cyrus slowly pick him up, lifting him by the shoulders and then letting Spyro's weak body rest on his side. Spyro's vision was still dotted with black dots and it took him a great deal of focus to remain awake. He felt dizzy, like he was going to throw up and was subconsciously stopping himself from doing it.

"Oh that's rich." Vixen spoke up suddenly. "The little dragon need his big brother to step in and save him."

At that, Spyro's eyes went round from surprise. He noticed Cyrus did the same thing, equally taken back by Vixen's remark. "How in the Underworld did you know we're brothers?" Cyrus demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" Vixen replied. "Did you two not know you were brothers?" She asked, a confused tone in her voice. _"You walk funny too."_ She added in a mutter, pointing at Cyrus with her remaining hand.

Spyro felt a wave of anger wash over him, mainly because he and Cyrus actually didn't know they were brothers until almost two weeks ago.

"How, did you know that?" Cyrus repeated his question, sounding angrier, but still speaking slowly.

At that, Vixen let out a hum, af if she was analyzing something. "Well firstly, you both walk funny." She said simply.

"What does that even mean!?" Spyro and Cyrus bellowed at Vixen.

After this, Spyro let out a pained groan and reach for his chest with his paw. Apparently, the damage from Vixen's blows still hadn't worn off.

" _Secondly_ ," Vixen picked up, raising her hand defensively. "You two have the same horns." She stated.

That confused Spyro, and made him almost instinctively look over at Cyrus' horns. He also noticed the indigo dragon looked at his own horns. Spyro didn't noticed what information Vixen had gathered to assume he and Cyrus were brothers just from their horns.

"You can't see it? Really?" Vixen asked in a way that sounded like she was talking to a child. "Look closer, they have the same length, the same curves, and they all have five lines each." She explained.

As she did, Spyro tried to focus through his blurred vision. He slowly began to notice that the details Vixen had listed down were indeed present on Cyrus' horns and remembered those same details on his own horns from times he had seen himself in mirrors or in pictures. Spyro felt stupid for looking over the subtle details even through he and Cyrus had met several times.

Spyro had searched for information about his dragon race, about his family, for so long. He had read books, asked questions, consulted the wises people he knew and had to get stranded on some tomb to learn any real details about who he was.

Meanwhile, Vixen had figured out pretty much all of it after knowing Spyro for less than half an hour. It made him feel like an incompetent. It made him feel disappointed in himself.

"In any case," Vixen picked up suddenly, making Spyro focus on her. "I'm not equipped to deal with an Infernus," She said, waving her self-mutilated left arm in front of the two brothers. "So I'll be leaving now." She declared.

"What's stopping me from burning you to a crisp?" Cyrus asked, a malevolent edge in his voice.

At that, Vixen looked to her side and took her remaining had to her chin, as if to emulate thought. "Your brother probably." She said wryly.

At that, Spyro started to feel his eyes close. He tried to force himself to open them, but he only managed to do so halfway. He felt his weight shift, like he was falling down, no longer able to balance himself against his brother's body.

Spyro's senses began to dull out. The cold, the pain, the fear he was feeling, it made him shut down slowly.

"Spyro?" He heard a voice call his name. It sounded distant, distorted. "Spyro!?" The voice called again, sounding more distressed. "Brother!?" The voice shouted, Spyro thought he heard panic in it's resonance.

And so, Spyro closed his eyes, and darkness enveloped his vision. But, only a few seconds from losing consciousness, Spyro heard something strange. He heard a woman, singing. The song he couldn't make out, but the voice, it made him feel one last stab of cold, one last taste of terror before his whole world faded away.

* * *

Spyro was feeling drowsy. He could feel himself laying down somewhere, pressed against a soft surface. He felt tired, drained of his strength. So, through the darkness, Spyro felt his consciousness fade, only able to hear the distorted sound of several, oddly familiar voices in the distance before he slowly returned to the wall of sleep.

But then, from the darkness, Spyro saw an image flash into existence before his eyes. It was the image of white fox, walking slowly on all fours at him. The creature was large, much larger than a normal fox and its fur was as white as a winter meadow. It glistened in the pure darkness that surrounded Spyro's vision. Then, Spyro noticed that the white fox started to pick up speed, walking faster, getting closer to him.

As the white fox got closer, Spyro noticed something. The creature had no eyes, it's eye sockets were empty, like a skeleton's. There was a thick, tar-like fluid dripping slowly from the empty sockets, tainting the white fur on the fox's face. Spyro started getting a really bad feeling, chills slowly crawling up his spine.

Then, Spyro saw the fox, open its mouth, baring its teeth. They were a hideous rotten yellow and each one was sharp, jagged and pointy, like a tiny butcher's knife. As the fox's mouth hung open, Spyro saw the same tar-like fluid that streamed out of the fox's eye sockets drool out of the its mouth, tainting the white creature's fur further.

The creature was so close now, Spyro could hear it let out a disturbing sound; a ravenous, rabied growl.

Spyro was breathing hard, he could feel his heart racing, he felt like he wanted, _needed_ to run away. But, even as the horrifying white creature got closer and closer, Spyro couldn't even move a muscle, he couldn't even scream. He tried, he tried moving, but his body stayed still, paralyzed.

Then, Spyro saw the white fox, jump up, leaping through the air with its jaws open wide, snarling ravenously as it came down and closed its jagged teeth around Spyro's face.

* * *

Spyro woke up screaming.

He was covered in cold sweat, he could feel his heart pounding against his chest and he had no idea where he was.

" _Vixen!"_ Spyro's subconscious screamed in terror as the purple dragon looked frantically across the room he was in, trying to get a hang on where he was.

"Spyro!" Someone called, sounding distressed.

Spyro quickly turned his head towards where the voice had come from. When he did, his breathing started to very slowly becoming steadier.

Cynder was standing a few meters away from him. She looked frightened. Her body was tense and she looking at Spyro with wide eyes. She had her wings raised defensively.

"Spyro?" Cynder called slowly. "It's me, you're alright." She said softly, lowering her wings and loosening up the tension in her body, but still keeping a worried look on Spyro.

At this, Spyro slowed his breathing further, he remembered Cynder, she was his friend, he trusted her.

After a few moments Cynder spoke again. "You are at the Academy, you are at home." She stated, making Spyro take another look around the room he and Cynder were in.

He noticed the many flags and posters hanging on the metal walls, as well as the familiar furniture on the room. Spyro then lowered his head and he saw he was standing over a white circular bed, his bed. He was in his room. He was in his home.

"Spyro?" Cynder called again, making Spyro focus on him. "Are… are you alright? How do you feel?" She asked tentatively. Spyro noticed she walked over to him, slowly, stepping lightly.

Spyro then remembered, he felt awful, he almost died. He felt cold, he felt pain and he felt afraid. _"Vixen!"_ His mind screamed again, making his heart race and his breathing become heavy. Spyro started whimpering and shutting his eyes closed, hugging himself desperately.

"Spyro!" The purple dragon heard Cynder's voice call, sounding distressed.

Then, Spyro felt something strange. He felt Cynder suddenly take a hold of him, wrapping her arms around his back. The violet dragoness then rested her head on Spyro's shoulder and spoke in a soothing voice. "Shhh, I'm here… you're with me." She soothed as she held Spyro.

Spyro's heart was still hammering against his chest, he was still taking uneven breaths but, slowly, very slowly, he felt himself calm down. "What do you feel Spyro?" He heard Cynder ask warmly, making the purple dragon start to focus.

Little by little, he realized he wasn't actually in pain, the ghosts of Vixen's blows faded under Cynder's gentle touch. The memory of the cruel cold emitted by the dragon slayer was replaced by the sensation of warmth that spread slowly through his body whenever his scales met Cynder's.

Then he remembered. He remembered he was with someone he cared about, someone he cherished being with. And so, Spyro extended his arms and wrapped them around Cynder as he rested his head on the crook of her neck, hugging her back desperately.

"I… I thought…" Spyro stammered, trying to steady himself. "I thought I was never going to see you again." He said as he closed his eyes, allowing a couple of tears to trail down his face.

"Well, I'm here now," Cynder responded, moving one of her paws from Spyro's back to his head, where she began to slowly caress him. "And you're here with me." She soothed.

Spyro felt himself relax, he allowed himself to let go and enjoy Cynder's warmth. The two dragons held each other in silence. They cherished their tender moment, making each other smile from the pleasant warmth they shared.

However, after a while, Spyro and Cynder let each other go and looked at each other's eyes. As Spyro gazed into Cynder's cerulean blue eyes, he felt himself blush. Every time he looked at her eyes his heart skipped a beat.

Cynder must have noticed Spyro's blush, because she let out a small giggle, innocent and shy, which made Spyro chuckle back.

But the, Spyro noticed Cynder darkened up. Her expression slowly changed from a blissful smile to an almost regretful frown.

This concerned Spyro, and hi voiced as much. "Cynder? What's wrong?" He asked.

"Spyro," She started slowly. "I think, you'll want to go to the common room," She stated. "Master Eon says there is something _really_ important he needs to talk about." She explained.

"What does Master Eon want to talk about?" Spyro asked, mildly confused.

But then it hit him, like a truck. _"The others,"_ Spyro thought. _"Cyrus,"_ He added, his mind racing after wild thoughts on what could have happened to his companions after their encounter with Vixen.

"Cynder, please tell me," Spyro said, putting his paws on Cynder's shoulders. "How are the others? The other dragons I was with?" He asked.

Cynder took a little while to answer, looking to her side as she did. "I think it would be best if you saw them yourself." She said. "You all got here in pretty rough shape."

At that, something clicked in the back of Spyro's mind. _"How_ did _we get here?"_ He asked himself. _"Did Cyrus carry us back? Did my other friends find us somehow?"_ He wandered silently. However, Spyro felt it would be better to just hear the answer to those questions from Master Eon since Cynder had said the portal master had something urgent to discus. So, Spyro shook his head lightly, clearing his thoughts.

Afterwards, Spyro let go of Cynder. "Well alright then," He began. "Let's go."

* * *

Spyro and Cynder flew through the air, heading toward the Academy courtyard. After a short trip, the two dragons arrived at the courtyard and made their way to the blue gates of the Academy. Spyro used his paws to push the heavy doors open, allowing him and Cynder to step into the common room.

Inside, Spyro saw a large cast of familiar faces. He saw Master Eon and Kaossandra standing on the common room balcony looking down at Sunburn, Zap, Bash and the rest of his new friends. They all seemed not to have noticed Spyro and Cynder had entered the room.

"Guys!" Spyro called, relieved to see all six dragons safe and sound.

At that the six dragons and the two portal masters turned around and when they laid eyes on the purple dragon they called his name in joy. "Spyro!" The called in unison

"Hey everyone." Spyro responded in a friendly tone as he walked over to them, Cynder following him closely. The Skylander then focused on his fellow dragons. He looked for one of them in particular. "Where's Camo?" He asked, not finding the little dragon.

At that, the other dragon's faces darkened slightly, which made Spyro feel a little worried. Then, the dragons stepped to their sides, revealing the scrawny figure of a small green dragon. Spyro noticed that Camo's left wing, the one Vixen had broken, was bandaged up and in a cast. The dragon himself looked slightly down in comparison to his usual childish cheerful self, but he smiled back at Spyro, his bushy tail wagging very slowly behind him.

"Hey dude," Camo tried saying with some energy.

"Hey," Spyro responded, giving the little dragon a smile. "Are you okay?" He asked caringly.

Camo then absentmindedly looked over to his broken wing. He gave it a sad, empty stare, but he let out a sigh and replied. "I'll be fine, don't worry." He said, forcing a smile.

Spyro felt really worried about his friend, but he decided not to press further, he had things to discuss with Master Eon. While Spyro made his way through his dragon friends, he noticed a couple of things. Sunburn, Zap and Bash seemed to have gotten out relatively fine in comparison to the others they had cuts and scrapes, as well as nasty frostbite where Vixen had hit them with her swords. Drobot's helmet was bludgeoned where Vixen had struck him, but outside of that, the coppery dragon seemed fine. Whirlwind had white bandages covering her sides, where Vixen had stuck her. Spyro guessed the lack of scales made the odd dragoness more vulnerable than the others.

Then, Spyro found himself staring up at Master Eon and Kaossandra. The two portal masters looked at him with grave expressions. They glanced at each other in silence before looking down at him once again.

"Spyro," Master Eon started. "I need you to focus and tell me what you remembered happened before you woke up here today." He stated, giving Spyro a serious look.

Spyro took a moment to call back the memories of what had happened. He did so reluctantly, because they were all extremely unpleasant. But, after a low sigh, Spyro spoke up. "We were in this town, near the Outskirts." Spyro started explaining, catching the portal masters' interest. "We were about to return to the Academy when out of the sudden, this… thing, this monster, came out of nowhere and tried to kill us." He recalled. "She said her name was… Vixen Reynald." Spyro shivered as he said the dragon slayer's name.

After this, Spyro looked up at Master Eon and Kaossandra. The two of them had pale faces, their eyes wide wis disbelief.

"Spyro," Kaossandra called. "Are you sure she said that name?" She asked. "Vixen, Reynald?" She said the name slowly, as if trying to make sure Spyro wasn't making something up.

"I'm sure," Spyro replied. "She also said she was a dragon slayer," He added. "Do you know her or something?" He asked.

"We do," Master Eon confirmed in a somber tone, lowering his head as he did.

"Who is she, then?" Someone behind Spyro asked.

The purple dragon turned around to see Drobot, step up closer to Master Eon. "She was one of the most formidable fighter I've ever seen. And the most terrifying being I've ever encountered." He stated, looking up at the portal masters, desperate for an answer.

"She had these weird swords." Zap spoke up. "She seemed to have an infinite amount of them, and whenever one of us got hit by one…" Sunburn paused, looking down at his paws. "I… couldn't move… and I felt like I was never going to feel warmth again." She said in a shaky, voice, slightly shivering himself.

"Why does she want to hurt us?" Whirlwind asked suddenly. "Did we do something to her?"

"No, you are not a fault here," Kaossandra stepped in. "But the story behind why she seeks to harm all of you, is a long one, as well as a very ancient one." She stated.

"A long time ago," Eon began, making spyro and the others listen in carefully. "During a time, even before the Great War, before Skylander Academy was even built, there existed a group of people, called the Dragon Slayer Coven." He said, closing his eyes, as if an unpleasant memory returned to him. "These people, had intense, burning hatred for dragon kind. They banded together and began slaughtering dragons in masse, showing no mercy or restraint in their hideous deeds." Eon said, speaking in a somber tone. "They killed dozens, _hundreds_ of dragons, and there was no way to stop them. They did not listen to reason and could not be bribed by gold or comfort. All those monsters seemed to want was to send dragon kind as a whole, into extinction."

"Vixen in particular was very noted among the dragon slayers," Kaossandra began explaining. "Because of her methods of killing. While most of those monsters used special magics and enchanted weapons to slay their prey, she figured out a much simpler method of dealing with her victims. Paralysing them and then stabbing them through the eye socket." Kaossandra explained.

"This modus operandi," Eon picked up. "Earned her a title among her fellow dragon slayers. Vixen Reynald, the Eye Gouger." He said, frowning and looking down as he said the dragon slayer's name.

At hearing that, Spyro felt his stomach drop and his blood go cold.

"However, they were stopped," Kaossandra picked up. "Vixen and the dragon slayers met their match, when a strange breed of dragons from a distant land came to our aid." She said, slowly shifting her gaze toward Spyro, giving him a tiny smile as she did. "The purple dragons, the strongest and bravest of them all, pushed back the merciless killers. Then, with our help-" She gestured at herself and at Eon. "-We managed to banish them all into the Outlands, where they've rotted away in their putrid malice for over a century. Afterwards, because of their heroic actions, the purple dragons became the guardians of the Core of light and since then, dragons lived in peace with rest of the races of the Skylands for years to come." She narrated, making Spyro a small, smile tug at his lips.

He felt pride and wonder from hearing his ancestors save the day like that. He always imagined that his ancestors did something similar at some point, and he day dreamed about the details. The actual story however, was more amazing that what Spyro's imagination had come up with.

"But now one of them is back," Sunburn interjected suddenly. "One of them found her way back here, and she set her eyes on us." He said, making Spyro somber up.

"How many of them were there?" Drobot questioned, making Spyro and the two portal masters focus on him. "And why do they hate dragons so much?"

"The hatred these people bear toward you is hard to justify, as well as to identify a source for." Eon began. "They weren't particularly eager to explain themselves or their actions," He said, answering Drobot's second question. "As for your first question, young dragon, there used to be twenty of them."

"Twenty!?" Camo exclaimed in a frightened tone. "You're saying there's twenty of those psychopaths roaming around in the Outlands, making their way here!?" He asked, terrified at the thought of multiple people like Vixen being in one place, a feeling Spyro could relate to.

"There _used to be_ twenty," Kaossandra stepped in, trying to calm Camo down. "Almost half of them were killed before we were able to send them off into the Outlands. Once there, it's almost certain that the remaining number dwindled even further. I doubt any of the others will make their way back to the Skylands." She stated, speaking steadily, showing little to no doubt in her words. "However, we really didn't expect for any of them to live this long. A century is quite the stretch of time even for hate-driven, magical beings."

"So what are we going to do about this one?" Bash asked, drawing attention to himself. "She's the main problem right now, so how are we going to deal with her?"

At that, there was silence. Apparently everyone hadn't thought that part through just yet.

"Okay but first," Camo began, breaking the silence. "Who's _we_?" He asked, turning to Bash curiously.

"Um, all of us?" Bash responded in an obvious tone. "We were going to sign up to become Skylanders, remember?" He asked, reminding Spyro of his friends' desire to become heros.

"He's right," Sunburn spoke up, turning to Master Eon and Kaossandra. "We do wish to become Skylanders."

"Y-You do?" MAster Eon stammered, a little taken back. "All of you?" He asked, gesturing at the six dragons.

"Yes, we do," Sunburn answered firmly. "If you'll have us."

At that, Eon and Kaossandra glanced at each other, strange, uncertain expressions on their faces. After a few moments, Kaossandra turned to face the six dragons, speaking out loud for all of them to hear.

"If you all truly wish to become Skylanders," She began, giving out a low sigh before continuing. "Then you must know, Vixen Reynald will come for you." She stated. "The only thing I can promise you if you follow this path, is that you will _never,_ face an enemy more relentless, more cunning or more merciless than a dragon slayer."

At that, silence fell over the room once again. Spyro could notice that the six dragons were giving each other nervous glances, as if considering their answer carefully. They looked at their injuries, their grim reminders of Vixen's might, and then, Spyro felt them look at him. He felt partly responsible for their decision in becoming Skylanders, so he assumed they took him into account in their consideration for their decision. Spyro didn't know how to feel about that.

The silence stretched out for a while, but after a while, Spyro noticed that the six dragons composed themselves, slowly, one after the other.

"I…" Sunburn started, a little shakily. "I can't let a monster like that run around unchecked. I can't let her hurt anyone else, I wouldn't forgive myself." He stated.

"I wanted to become a Skylander for a long time," Drobot picked up. "If I can't stand up to someone like her, then, I might as well give my dream up." He said, swallowing hard but keeping his composure.

"I owe quite a lot to the Skylanders," Bash stated. "I think, if I join up, I can finally pay them back."

"I've never belonged anywhere," Whirlwind started in a small voice. "But, here I feel like I could finally belong, like I could finally have friends and make a difference." She admitted, speaking a little louder, more confidently.

"Honestly, I don't know if fighting someone who's bent on the genocide of my species is a good idea." Zap started, chuckling mirthlessly. "But, then again, the genocide of my species doesn't sound like a good thing. So, I guess I'm saying that, yes, I'm not about to let that _hag_ go killing and hurting people for the heck of it."

Then, last but not least, Camo spoke up. "I've never really done anything with my life," He admitted. "I've always been scared, and frankly, I still am, I'm scared of _her_." He said, the implication of who Camo was referring to was clear to Spyro. "But I can't bring myself to run away this time. Not this time." He said, trying his best to speak firmly.

After all the dragons finished speaking, Eon and Kaossandra looked at them in silence, apparently surprised by their resolve. Then, with little warning, the two portal masters turned around and walked a few steps away from the balcony railing.

Spyro heard the duo whisper for a short while, he guessed they were discussing what to make of the new volunteers. However, after a while, the two portal masters turned around and looked down at the six dragons serious expressions on their faces.

"Well, seeing your resolve and the threat of Vixen looming over you all," Master Eon began, "Kaossandra and I believe it is best for you all to begin your training at once."

"Wait a second," Zap interjected suddenly. "Are you really gonna let us join? Are we really going to become Skylanders!?" He asked, excitement growing in his voice.

"Whether you become Skylanders or not," Master Eon began, slowly smiling and turning over to Spyro. "Will depend largely on how good a teacher you train under." He said, winking at Spyro.

At that, Spyro felt a surge of energy, like he was suddenly revitalized.

"Spyro?" Kaossandra picked up now. "Would you be willing to spearhead the training of these six dragons?" She asked, giving him a serious stare.

"Yes." Spyro answered quickly and a little loudly. He could feel himself shaking slightly.

Spyro then noticed the six dragons started smiling and shuffling energetically, apparently just as eager as Spyro to get this show on the road.

"Well in that case," Master Eon began, "You have quite a lot of training to do, don't you?" He said, smiling down at the six dragons.

"You guys are lucky," Cynder's voice came from behind Spyro. "He's a really good teacher." She said, giving Spyro a friendly nudge on the shoulder.

"I can back up that statement." Drobot said energetically.

"Alright!" Zap exclaimed, standing on his hind legs and raising his arms over his head. "Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" The others cheered in unison.

Spyro could feel a wave of anticipation wash over him, it made him start shaking. But it wasn't a frightful shiver, more like he had so much energy pent up he could barely keep himself in place. He was going to become a teacher, he was going to train a new team of Skylanders. It was like an abstract dream he didn't know he had came true. It made him feel funny, tingly inside which in turn made him smile broadly.

Then, a loud sound interrupted the fanfare. It was the sound of the Academy gates opening. This made everyone fall silent and turn their heads toward the Academy entrance.

When Spyro did this, he let out a small gasp. The purple dragon saw a familiar face, one he had really hoped to see again.

"Cyrus!" Spyro called, giving his brother a warm, wide welcome smile.

"Hey Spyro." Cyrus replied softly, returning a gentle smile. "It's been a while."

* * *

Vixen was walking, slowly but steadily through a large, flat isle. The ground beneath her feet felt strange as she walked over it. The green grass felt completely diferent to the grey ash she had walked over for almost a century. It was smoother, yet steadier than the ashen soil of the Outlands

Vixen then looked at her left arm, the one the Infernus boy had damaged. She smiled to see a dark, tar-like substance bubbling on her wound. Limbs were always slow, so she didn't worry about it.

Right now, Vixen's mind was focused on one thing, or well more accurately, eight things. The purple brothers and the other lizards that accompanied them. She had to find them again, she had to slaughter them all. So, she sniffed the air, getting back their scent. After a few seconds, Vixen found them, she smiled broadly, showing her jagged fangs to the world.

And so, out of joy, Vixen started singing. Singing her favorite song. _"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust"_

" _Rest now my weary prey_

 _Your blood my iron will rust_

 _For your petty life you better pray_

 _Because your death is only just"_

" _The big ones scream, the small ones cry_

 _The smallest crack, but they all die_

 _For all their sins, in blood they'll pay_

 _Until then, I shall not rest today"_

"Ohhhhh, I've missed this!" Vixen howled, adrenaline running through her veins. "The hunt is on again!" She cheered, gripping her purple trophy of a cape tightly.

* * *

 _Author's notes_

 _Hello, chapter six! Everyone be ready for more chapters, and also, maybe longer chapters... maybe longer. But more chapters nontheless!_

\- I still don't own Skylanders Academy

\- Enter Vixen! The terrifying villian from another age. (Is she too scary? Should I tone her down a little?)

\- Spyro and his new friends are all together and their training is about to comence and now, with a brand new villian to face, the adventure _really_ begins!


	7. Chapter 7

**Skylanders Academy: Song of the Hunt**

by andresponceb2002

 **Chapter 7) Reunion**

Spyro was smiling broadly as he beamed at Cyrus, who was standing mere metres away from him. The indigo dragon was smiling back, a small, yet pleasant smile, his green eyes warm and at ease.

Spyro was about to call out his brother's name and ask him an endless stream of questions. He wanted to know so much of what had happened to him in these past days that he couldn't even organize his many questions in his head.

However, before Spyro could say a word, he noticed something. Cyrus' eyes suddenly wandered off Spyro, focusing on something behind him. When this happens, Cyrus' eyes dilated as he lifted his eyebrows.

This confused Spyro... for a very fleeting moment at least.

Rushing past him, so fast he couldn't properly see, a red and orange figure rushed at Cyrus. Once the figure was in front of Spyro, he identified it as Sunburn, a very angry-looking Sunburn. The bird-like dragon moved his head back and then swayed it forth, releasing a stream of white and yellow flames at Cyrus.

"Sunburn, no!" Spyro yelled, distressed at the sight of his brother being attacked.

However, as Sunburn let up his attack and his bright flames dispersed, Spyro noticed Cyrus was nowhere to be found. On his original location, stood nothing, empty space.

"I heard of warm welcomes," A slightly raspy voice started, making Spyro and Sunburn look up. "But that was a bit diferent that what I imagined." Cyrus said sarcastically, as he used his wings to remain above Spyro and the others.

" _You_!" Sunburn hissed as he looked up at Cyrus. "I won't let you get away!" He declared, furiously.

"Wait, guys!" Spyro interjected, trying to defuse the situation. "You need to calm down!"

"Calm down!?" Drobot exclaimed, sounding dumbfounded. "That's him! That's the guy who kidnapped us!" He shouted, pointing at Cyrus accusingly.

"I remembered him being shorter." Camo murmured, slowly backing away with his head low, keeping his eyes on Cyrus.

Spyro then looked up at Cyrus. The beat of his wings had slowed down, and he had his head low, looking straight down, avoiding everyone's eyes. His brow was furrowed and he was frowning, expressing heavy guilt.

Then, Spyro remembered. He remembered all the harm Cyrus had caused his new friends. The indigo dragon was the cause of them becoming the Knights of Solitude against their will. The sudden remembrance made Spyro's heart feel heavy, stopping any words from escaping his mouth.

However, Spyro was forced to focus one again, when he saw Zap tense up his wings and shoot upwards, straight at Cyrus. The blue dragon then released a stream of yellow lightning, aimes at Cyrus. In response to this, Cyrus dived out of the way, then boosted himself with a strong flap of his wings, allowing him to reposition himself out of harm.

"Get back here!" Zap shouted, trying to chase after Cyrus.

However, before Cyrus could do anything to heed or disobey Zap's command, a sudden blast of fire and light erupted from where Sunburn was previously standing. The red dragon disappeared, leaving behind a small, smoldering crater. However before long, another blast, identical to the first detonated behind Cyrus, knocking the indigo dragon off his balance and causing him to fall out of the air and land roughly on the floor.

"That's enough!" Spyro roared loudly, puffing out his chest and tensing his posture, causing a stunned silence to loom over the common room. During this time, Cyrus slowly got up from the floor, hanging his head low as he did, still looking away from everyone.

"Why are you defending him!?" Whirlwind asked, breaking the silence. "He's a bad guy!"

Spyro didn't respond immediately. Cyrus was guilty of a lot of things, the indigo dragon himself had admitted it. However, Spyro believed firmly in the fact that Cyrus was not the only one at fault for the suffering his new friends. Reluctantly, he called back the memories of the most unpleasant, most malevolent and phycotic mound of living trash he had ever met.

So, after letting out a low sigh, Spyro spoke up. "Cyrus is not the one to blame for what happened to you." He stated.

"What does that mean?" Drobot asked suddenly. "He's the one who attacked us, isn't he?"

"Yes, he was," Spyro began, speaking slowly. "But he was only doing it because he was forced to."He explained.

"Wh-What does that mean?" Camo asked slowly, his voice shaky.

"The one who was really behind all this," Spyro picked up. "The one who's responsible for hurting all of you, is called Omen." He said, hissing the villain's name in disdain. "He was the one who took control of you, and… he made Cyrus go after you." He said, looking over to his brother, who was still had his head low. "He is the one to blame here."

"But why?" Sunburn spoke up suddenly. "Why would he bend to such a monster's will?" He demanded. "He must have known full well that what he was doing was wrong." He continued, turning his head to Cyrus. "So, why didn't he fight back!?" He demanded.

"Because he'd die!" Spyro responded, his blood roaring in his ears.

At that, Sunburn took a step back from Cyrus, now giving the indigo dragon a wide eyed, shaky stare while staying in silence.

"W-What?" Whirlwind suddenly began. "What do you mean by that?"

"The mark on his forehead," Spyro began,gesturing at the "A" over Cyrus' left eye. "Is something called a torture brand. Omen could use it to hurt, or even kill him if he refused to do what he was told." He explained, recalling with discomfort the first time he had heard his brother tell him the position he was in.

Spyro noticed that everyone remained silent, glancing at Cyrus. Diferent emotions seemed to stir within the six dragons as the kept listening to Spyro speak.

"But then," Spyro picked up. "Something happened. The magic that controlled the brand was removed and then Cyrus helped me and my friends defeat Omen and rescue you guys." He explained, at that, Spyro noticed that Cyrus lifted his head a little bit, just enough to allow the indigo dragon to glance at Spyro. "He told us where Omen's base was and he helped us fight through his minions."

"That's true," Cynder suddenly spoke up, surprising Spyro and making everyone focus on her. "I was captured by Omen and taken to his lair. Spyro and the Skylanders showed up, and so did Cyrus." She related, looking at the indigo dragon with soft eyes. "He helped rescue me, and I we fought side by side against one of Omen's servants. I don't think he would have done Omen's bidding if he had a choice." She said, firmly and surely, making Cyrus give her a wide eyed glance.

"Additionally," A new voice picked up, making Spyro and the rest of the dragons turn their heads toward the source. "It was none other than Cyrus who alerted the Skylanders of you whereabouts during your fight with Vixen Reynald." Master Eon stated.

"Really?" Spyro asked, his last memories of the fight with Vixen to hazy to testify for himself.

"Yes,"Kaossandra confirmed. "Your teammates were following Unulus' trail to that arena you were all near. Once you all returned, they told us that Cyrus had told them about you all and went on to collaborate with the Skylanders to get you all back here safely." She explained.

"I… did do that." Cyrus said meekly raising one of his paws.

"And, not that it matters or anything," Spyro picked up, scratching his head nervously. "But, Cyrus also happens to be… my brother." He said awkwardly.

" _What_!?" The six dragons all shouted simultaneously, slightly scaring Spyro and making him shrink.

"You're brothers!?" Zap asked in a dumbfounded tone, pointing at Spyro and at Cyrus. "You guys don't even look alike!" He stated.

"We look a _little_ similar." Cyrus muttered, barely audible.

"Well, we are." Spyro stated. "And, you don't have to, but it would mean a lot if you could give him the benefit of the doubt or at the very least, not try to kill him." He suggested.

At that, there was another pause, another stretch of silence. The six dragons shifted their gazes between Spyro and Cyrus. Spyro hoped in silence that his new companions would at least refrain from attacking Cyrus anymore.

Then, Spyro noticed the first to move was Sunburn. The purple dragon was admittedly worried Sunburn would do something violent, but to Spyro's surprise, Sunburn simply turned around, walking in a brisk pace toward the exit of the common room, an angry, furrowed look on his face.

"I need some air," Sunburn declared. "Don't follow me." He growled as he reached the common room doors.

A part of Spyro wanted to talk to Sunburn, but in the end, he realized it would probably be for the best if the bird-like dragon thought things through himself. So, with a mildly disappointed sigh, Spyro watched as Sunburn opened the common room doors and walked out, flying off somewhere to clear his head.

After this, Spyro head Bash speak up. "If he won't get in my way," He started. "I'll leave him be." He conceded.

"You what!?" Zap exclaimed suddenly. "You're really okay with that creep?" He asked, pointing at Cyrus.

"I'm not _okay_ with him," Bash began, keeping his eyes on Cyrus. "That's why I don't plan on wasting my time with him." He said simply. "So, if you'll excuse me-" He picked up, walking toward the exit as well. "-I need someone to tell me where the training course is."

"I could show take you there." Cynder volunteered.

"After you, then." He replied, as he opened the blue doors and waited patiently for Cynder.

Before the dragoness left, she nudged Spyro with her wing, calling his attention. After this, she gave him a warm smile and proceeded to fly over to Bash. Afterwards, the two dragons left the room and closed the doors behind them.

"Ok, come on guys," Zap began, looking between Camo, Drobot and Whirlwind. "Are you really just going to forgive him?" He asked, gesturing at Cyrus exaggeratedly.

"Ummm… I'm not good at staying angry." Camo said nervously, scratching the back of his head and looking at the floor.

"I don't know what to feel," Whirlwind stated, looking at Cyrus strangely, "If what Spyro says is true, then…" She paused, closing her eyes. "N- No, I'm sorry I just can't look at him right now." She said, turning her head away from Cyrus.

"I… I think," Drobot started up. "I think that with time, I can bring myself to forgive him." He stated, sparking hope in Spyro's heart. "But that's the issue, I'll need _a lot_ of time." He sighed.

"Are you- is this for real?" Zap asked suddenly. The blue dragon growled and groaned loudly and then facepalmed, but after a while, he spoke up. "Fine, alright I'll leave him alone if he leaves me alone!" He declared, crossing his arms and glaring at Cyrus, but not speaking further.

At that, Spyro knew the standing of each of his friends. He was admittedly disheartened by how much resentment the six of them held toward his brother but he understood it perfectly. He himself has spent time hating Cyrus, he had been a villian for a while after all.

"Well then," Master Eon spoke up suddenly, making everyone focus on him. "I am certain there will be time for you all to settle your differences with Cyrus. Right now, you should tend to becoming familiar with your new surroundings," He suggested, gesturing at the whole of the Academy. "Skylander Academy is a large place with many names and places you should get to know." He stated, putting his hands behind his back.

"Yeah, I think that would be for the best," Drobot voiced. "Come on guys, we should leave." He said as he made his way to the blue doors.

"Yeah, alright," Zap grumbled, following Drobot reluctantly.

Whirlwind did the same, remaining in silence as she did. All three dragons passed by Cyrus, giving him dirty looks as they left him behind. Then, the three left the room, leaving only Camo behind.

Spyro was a little concerned that Camo would also do or say something mean to Cyrus. However, when the little green dragon approached Cyrus, he let out a short exhale of breath and spoke. "Sorry man, I don't really even hate you to be honest." he admitted. "Buuuut I'd rather have five friends instead of one." He said apologetically. "So, just… hang in there." Camo said taping Cyrus carefully on the shoulder with his paw.

Afterwards, the little green dragon left the room, hurriedly chasing after his fellow dragons.

But then, Spyro heard something strange, a small snicker, coming from none other than his brother. "I like that one." Cyrus' raspy voice expressed with a miniature smile. This in turn made Spyro smile as well.

"Cyrus," Kaossandra's voice sounded suddenly, making both Cyrus and Spyro look up at her. "We are grateful for you help, but you must understand that you have built yourself quite a bad reputation around here. You'll have to understand, that if you intend to stay, you might face some… difficulties." She said, cringing slightly.

At that, Cyrus lowered his head slightly. "I understand," He replied simply. "I'll do my best to cause no trouble." He stated politely, bowing his head at the two portal masters.

This made them seem slightly taken back, glancing at each other and giving Cyrus a strange look. "And… we'll be grateful for that?" Eon said awkwardly. "In any case young dragon, I believe you and… your brother-" He said, turning to look at Spyro. "-Have some catching up to do." He said, smiling gently.

* * *

Spyro and Cyrus were on _the_ thinking spot. The two dragons were gazing at the blue sky before them, a pleasant silence hanging over them.

"So," Spyro spoke first. "How have you been?" He asked awkwardly, unsure of how to start.

"I've been…" Cyrus began, pausing midway, as if he was reconsidering his answer. "Fine, I'm all good." He said finally, trying to sound convincing.

Spyro noticed that his brother's eyes were diferent than usual. The purple dragon had mostly unpleasant memories from his brother's green eyes. They were usually lit up with a cold, painful fervor, and had slitted pupils. They made Cyrus look quite inhumane when they first met. However, Spyro noticed there was now an unfocused, sad glint in them and that the slitted pupils were wider than normal, indicating the dragon wasn't his usual self.

In light of this, Spyro tried figuring out what the problem was, speaking tentatively. "I, uh… suppose you didn't find our parents, right?" Spyro asked in a down tone.

"What gave that away?" Cyrus responded in a sarcastic yet tired way. The indigo dragon let out a low sigh and lowered his gaze to the ground. "I looked everywhere I could reach, asked every quest-giving-npc looking guy I came across and… nothing. I found nothing." He said, in a beat-down tone, clenching his teeth slightly in frustration.

"There was this one guy," Cyrus picked up. "That told me there were purple dragon sightings in this weird mabu villiange in the Outskirts. That turned out to be a bust, but at least it stirred me near you and your friends just in time to help you with that white fox lady." Cyrus sighed, hanging his head slightly.

Spyro was disheartened by this lack of progress in finding their family. He imagined Cyrus was particularly frustrated about it and was able to relate to the feeling. He cursed in his mind, irritated by the fact the two brothers seemed to constantly find themselves empty handed in his search for their parents.

So, in an attempt to change the subject, Spyro tried to speaking again. However, he was cut off when his brother spoke up first. "Speaking of which-" Cyrus picked up. "I see you made new friends," He said dryly, putting on a strange, plastic smile. "How's that working out for you?"

Spyro concluded Cyrus was talking about the six dragons he had recently befriended. The purple dragon was unsure of how to answer, for he knew that Cyrus had a rocky relationship with them.

"They want to become Skylanders," Spyro began, trying to speak in a cheerful tone. "I'll actually be in charge of training them, so I actually have a lot to look forward to." He explained.

Spyro bit his lip, trying to hold himself from taking to much and overwhelming his brother. It was difficult. Spyro had not forgotten what he and Cyrus had discussed on their previous meeting. Now that he was back, Spyro had a tiny flickering hope that Cyrus would stay, not just as his brother, but as a Skylander. He had been on a long recruiting streak lately, so, the thought of that possibility simply couldn't seem to get out of his head.

After this, Spyro waited for his brother to respond. However, a moment passed, and then another and Cyrus remained in silence, looking emptily at the distance.

"C-Cyrus?" Spyro called in a worried tone, tilting his head to try getting his brother to face him.

"Do you think you can protect them?" Cyrus asked suddenly, making Spyro furrowed his brow in confusion. Then, the indigo dragon turned his head and looked at Spyro, a worried look in his eyes. "Do you think they'll be safe from _her_?" He asked somberly.

At that, Spyro felt chills slowly crawl up his back. The dark corners of his mind letting out a stream of endless horrified whispers. He knew, instantly, who Cyrus was referring to. _"Vixen"_ He concluded in his mind, a stab of cold burying itself on his back, making him shiver. Then it hit him. If Spyro really was going to train them to become Skylanders, they'd have to face Vixen once again. Their last encounter with the dragon slayer, had ended in all of them defeated and far too close to a very bitter end.

"You have to keep them safe," Cyrus picked up suddenly. "I… I've…" He paused looking down at his paws, closing his eyes and clenching his fists. "I've already put them through enough misery. They shouldn't have to have their lives ruined by that monster." He said in a guilty tone.

At that, something inside of Spyro made him react. "It wasn't your fault," He declared. "You and I know, Omen made you do it."

"Yes," Cyrus replied hollowly. "I did his dirty work, I followed every command he gave me and I almost ended the Skylands because of it." He said, guilt making his voice slowler.

"Because he would have killed you!" Spyro reacted, making Cyrus flinch. "He tortured you and he made you feel worthless! No one should have to live the way you did!" He said, his heart aching slightly as he remembered all the horrible things Cyrus told him Omen had done to him.

Cyrus remained in silence, looking at Spyro with wide eyes.

"Cyrus," Spyro picked up, speaking in a somber tone. "I can tell you feel guilty about what you've done to them," He continued. "But if you really want people to forgive you, you need to forgive yourself too." He said, putting a paw on Cyrus' shoulder comfortingly.

This gesture seemed to take the indigo dragon by surprise. He flinched and tensed up under Spyro's touch, which made the purple dragon worry. However, before long, the indigo dragon relaxed, giving his brother a pleasant smile. "Thank you," He said mellowly.

"Don't mention it," Spyro said, returning a wider smile. "That's what family is for I guess." He said, chuckling lightly.

Afterwards the two dragons shared another silent moment. Cyrus was smiling, yet, his smile was small, slight tones of sadness behind it. It made Spyro feel a little concerned. Now that he was actually close up and really looking at his brother, he noticed there were all too familiar, thin, black lines under his eyes, signifying little sleep.

The silence was eventually broken by Cyrus. "Well, I think you've wasted enough time with me," He began. "Off you go, you have… Skylander-ing to do." He said, giving Spyro a lazy, dismissive wave.

"Wh-What?" Spyro responded, blinking and shaking his head slightly.

"You have to train you new…" Cyrus paused and looked to the side, thinking his words through. "Recruits? Is that what you call them?" He said, moving to get up and leave. "Wouldn't want to bother anyone." He said, looking down.

"Actually!" Spyro reacted, speaking loudly. "I was wondering if you could come with me!" He asked, making Cyrus suddenly fix his gaze on him. "You know, to give you a proper tour of the Academy." He offered.

"Realy?" Cyrus asked, tilting his head and speaking with uncertainty. "Do you really think that's a good idea?"

"Of course!" Spyro replied. "You should get the runaround! Ya know, to get familiar with the place." He said.

Cyrus looked unsure. He scratched his neck, then the side of his chest, over the black gashes on his sides. Then, after a while and a low sigh, Cyrus looked back up at Spyro. "Well, I guess you won't stop nagging me otherwise." He grumbled.

"Hm, perceptive." Spyro retorted, nudging his brother on the shoulder, getting a small smile from him. "Come on, man! We've got a lot to see!"

* * *

Cynder was walking down to the Academy training arena. Bash was following her closely, remaining silent.

Cynder tried to get some conversation going, after all, Spyro trusted this guy. "So, Bash," She began. "What kind of training would you like to do?"

"What kind of training equipment do you have?" Bash asked back.

"We have an obstacle course and a hologram villian arena," Cynder responded.

The violet dragoness noticed Bash's eyes lit up slightly as she mentioned the latter training equipment. "That area place sounds interesting," He stated, trying to sound casual, mostly failing. "Where is it?" He asked.

"It's over _there_!" Cynder replied, pointing over to her left, to a large arena-like construct.

"Alright then," Bash began. "I think I can make it there on my own," He said, concerning Cynder slightly. "Thank you for taking me here so far, but I imagine you have better things to do than following me around." He said, confusing Cynder about if he was trying to be kind or dismissive.

"Actually," Cynder tried picking up. "I don't have much to do right now. And besides! You don't know how to operate the holograms." She reminded the earthy dragon.

Bash then opened his mouth, as if he wanted to argue something. However his eyes then glanced to his left and he closed his mouth, alongside his eyes in a low sigh. "Alright," He grumbled. "You can come."

"How courteous of you," Cynder replied, with a smirk.

"Hey guys!" A diferent voice called in the distance, coming from behind the two dragons.

Cynder took a couple of steps to look a round Bash's large figure. Once she did, Cynder saw three other dragons approaching quickly, flying through the air before landing nearby. Cynder recognised the two as Zap, Drobot and Whirlwind and remembered they were also friends of Spyro's.

She noticed that Zap and Drobot were gravitating over to Bash, Zap in particular smiling at him broadly, evidently bothering the large dragon.

Whirlwind on the other hand, stayed a couple of steps back, slightly singled out. The cyan dragoness had her head a little low and stayed behind the other dragons, something Cynder found slightly peculiar.

"Heya Bash!" Zap greeted the large brown dragon energetically. "Where are you going?" He questioned.

"Training." Bash responded simply, expressing little interest in continuing the conversation.

"Alright! We can train together!" Zap proposed cheerfully, making Bash let out a stressed groan and roll his eyes.

"I could use some training." Drobot began, making Bash groan again, slightly louder this time. "I'd like to make sure my mech-suit is fully functional."

"Well, there's plenty of space in the arena for you all," Cynder stated, which caused Bash to let out another, even louder and more prolonged groan. "You could take turns fighting waves of hologram villains." She suggested.

"That sounds great!" Zap cheered. "When do we get started?" He asked with a wide grin.

"Well, the arena is over there-" Cynder said, pointing toward the arena behind her with her thumb. "-So you guys can feel free to tag along, feel free!" She said invitingly.

"Very well then," Drobot started up. "Lead the way Cynder." He said, giving Cynder a patient smile.

After this, Cynder proceeded to take flight, instructing everyone to follow her. After a short while, the five dragons quickly arrived at the training arena. Once there, the dragons stood waiting patiently for Cynder to start the hologram training course.

"Alright," Cynder began. "Who wants to go first?" She asked, looking between the four dragons.

"I think I was supposed to go first." Bash declared in a slightly annoyed tone.

"I call second!" Zap said, raising a paw over his head.

"I'd like to go third." Drobot said, also raising a paw, just more calmly.

Cynder noticed Whirlwind hadn't spoken yet, and didn't seem eager to. She was averting her eyes and had her long ears low. "I guess, I'll go last." The cyan dragoness said in a low tone.

After this, Zap, Drobot and Whirlwind, began to move as if to head towards the many elevated seats around the arena, where mabu crowds usually sat down on. Cynder on the other hand began heading to where she remembered the hologram villian course was activated.

However, before any of the dragons could move further, they heard the sound of a familiar voice, coming from the sky above them.

"And this-" The voice said, apparently mid may through a sentence. "Is the training arena! This is where we fight these weird hologram villains!"

Cynder then looked up at where the voice was coming from. She smiled to see a familiar purple dragon flying overhead. "Spyro!" She called, waving one of her paws over her head.

"Spyro?" The other four dragons asked in unison, turning their heads to where Cynder was looking.

However, after a moment, Cynder couldn't help but suddenly stop smiling. She saw another dragon following Spyro, like a purple shadow. Cyrus, flew behind Spyro, and looked down at her and the others with an inexpressive face, which mildly crept Cynder out.

"Heya guys!" Spyro greeted, waving back energetically. "What's up?" He asked as he began descending, eventually landing on the flat arena and glancing between his friends.

Cyrus imitated Spyro, only keeping his distance from the rest of the dragons, averting his eyes and keeping his head low.

"Uh, we were going to do some hologram villian training," Cynder began. "Bash and the others were about to start taking turns." She explained.

"Yeah, until _that_ guy showed up," Zap spat, pointing accusingly at Cyrus. "Now, all of a sudden, I don't really want to be here anymore."

Cynder noticed that, at that, Spyro glanced back at Cyrus, who was staying silent, looking at Zap, inexpressive. However, after looking closer at the indigo dragon, she noticed something strange, a miniscule, almost undetectable twitch on his left eye. It went away quickly, but not before Cynder could notice it.

"Well, I think I can change that," Spyro picked up suddenly, which made Cynder focus on him. He was now smiling back at Zap, making her and the blue dragon curious.

"Y-You can?" Zap asked, confused.

"How would you and Bash-" Spyro started up, pointing at both the dragons he named. "-Like to have that fight I owe you?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

"That sounds quite interesting," Bash stated, giving Spyro a fanged grin.

"Alright," Zap interjected. "Suddenly I wanna stay again." He said, cracking his knuckles. "Fighting you just _has_ to be cooler than fighting a bunch of holograms."

"Wait, you guys are going to fight?" Cynder asked, unaware that Spyro owed them something, much less a fight.

"Yeah, we had this bet a while ago," Spyro began explaining. "But we called it off. So, we're going to have a match here instead."

"Just you against both of them?" Cynder asked, starting to understand the situation. "Isn't that a bit unfair?" The dragoness then paused for a moment. She then smiled, for she had come up with an idea. "Wouldn't a _team_ fight be better?" She asked wryly.

"A team fight?" Bash asked, evidently curious.

"You two," Cynder began, pointing at Bash and Zap. "Verus me and Spyro." She suggested.

"I like the sound of that!" Spyro stated energetically. "What do you think guys?" He asked his friends, eagerly awaiting a response.

"Fine by me." Bash said flatly, however, his lips were tugging slightly upward, almost as if the brown dragon was trying to stop himself from expressing his anticipation.

"Alright! This is gonna be awesome!" Zap exclaimed, his excitement making him shake in his place.

"This will certainly be worth watching," Drobot said. "I can't wait to see the outcome." He said excitedly.

"Just… don't hurt each other too much." Whirlwind asked worriedly.

"Kick their butts." Cyrus suddenly blurted.

This made everyone turn their heads and look at Cyrus. The indigo dragon was looking up and to the side, whistling innocently. A tiny drop of sweat trailed down the indigo dragon's temple.

"Well alright then," Spyro picked up, drawing attention to him instead of Cyrus. "Whenever you're ready guys." He said, stepping back from Zap and Bash and getting into battle pose.

At this, Cynder saw Drobot and Whirlwind fly off and sit down on the left side of the arena. After a few moments, Cyrus did the same thing, only sitting instead, on the right side of the arena, giving the other dragons wide breath, out of unease or some other reason, Cynder couldn't tell. However, Cynder had little time to dwell on that, she had to focus on the duo of feisty dragons in front of her.

"Cynder," Spyro's voice called, making her turn her head to her side and look at her friend. "I'm counting on you." He said, giving her a mellow smile and stretching out his fist for her to bump.

At that, Cynder smiled back, gently bumping her friend's fist. "Let's do it." She said, giving Spyro a firm nod before getting into battle pose and turning back to Zap and Bash.

The two dragons also got into battle pose. Zap in particular looked quite eager to start throwing punches, he was tensed up and had his wings stretched out, ready to charge at Spyro and Cynder. Bash stayed still, with his head low to the ground and eyes narrow, calm yet focused, also ready for a fight.

"Alright guys," Spyro started up. "Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" Zap and Bash responded in unison.

At that, Cynder saw as Spyro flew up in the air and released as volley of fireballs at Zap and Bash. However, Zap secreted a strange blue slime from his paws and used it to slide away, easily getting away from Spyro's firebolts. Bash on the other hand, stood still, just lowering his head and widening his stance. after this, Spyro's firebolts crashed against Bash's back, however, the brown dragon did not seem very harmed at all by the attack.

" _He must be very tough."_ Cynder thought to herself, impressed by the brown dragon's durability.

However, Cynder had little time to be impressed by Bash, she quickly found herself startled by him. The brown dragon charged at her, mowing his spike, covered tail behind him, aiming to swing it at her head.

In response to this, Cynder charged at Bash. She managed to notice a tiny hint of confusion in the brown dragon's eyes when she did this, however, not enough to stop him from keeping his attack going.

When, Bash was close enough to swing his tail at her, Cynder focused and then, the violet dragoness turned into a dark, misty outline of herself. Afterwards, Cynder went straight through Bash's body, passing through him like smoke. After a moment, Cynder resolidified, feeling herself touch down on the ground again. Then, The violet dragoness quickly turned around, fining Bash, turning his head side to side, frantically, unaware of Cynder's location.

At this, Cynder took a deep breath, swaying her head back. Then, Cynder released a stream of blue lightning at Bash, which hit the dragon unaware. The impact, got Bash off his balance, making him stumble to the ground.

She was about to check if Spyro was doing alright with Zap, when suddenly, something made her react. "Cynder, look out!" She heard Spyro's voice shout.

Cynder then, immediately turned into dark mist. Afterwards, she saw as a blue figure dashed through her, letting out a confused yelp as it stumbled face-down in front of her. It was Zap, Cynder guessed the blue dragon had tried to attack her from behind, only to stumble after trying to grasp thin air.

However, Zap was fast, he was about to get on his feet to attack Cynder again, this time with his claws, which made the dragoness step back and remain in her misty state out of precaution. But, before Zap could throw his strike, Cynder saw as something, passed through her misty outline, surprising both her and Zap. This happened to be Spyro, head lowered and horns flaming. After dashing through Cynder's misty figure, which he used as a smoke screen to take Zap by surprise, Spyro headbutted the blue dragon, the impact sending him sprawling back, making him land beside Bash, who was groaning, trying to get on his feet.

"Nice job!" Cynder cheered as she saw her friend step back and stand by her side.

"Not bad yourself!" Spyro praised back. "I think if we do, more combos like that last one," He continued, making Cynder recall their previous synergy. "I think we got this in the bag." He said with a confident smirk.

"Yeah, I think so too." Cynder agreed.

"Alright!" Zap suddenly exclaimed, drawing Cynder's attention. "Time for round two!"

At that, Cynder saw Zap take a deep breath and stand on his hind legs. Then, the blue dragon released a huge stream of bright yellow lightning at Spyro and Cynder. As a response to this, Cynder quickly released her own lightning, her blue stream crashing against Zap's in a violent clash of energy which sent blue and yellow sparks flying everywhere.

Cynder tried holding Zap in place, pushing forward with her attack. She could feel the blue dragon slowly give in little by little, making the blue dragon step back in strain.

After a few moments of struggle Cynder managed to overpower Zap, her lightning pushing his back and causing the blue dragon to be knocked back. Her throat was a little dry from the struggle, but she was fine and read to keep fighting.

Cynder then turned to look for Bash. The brown dragon crawled up into a large, spiky ball before he began spinning in place like a pinwheel, quickly gaining speed. Then, Bash shoot toward, Cynder, rolling toward her at alarming speeds.

Cynder was about to turn into mist to avoid the attack, however, she stopped once she saw Spyro, charge past her, directly at Bash. He had his head lowered, orange flames blazing on his horns. When the Spyro and Bash collided, a small shockwave erupted from their impact, staggering both dragons, and causing them to abruptly stop their charges. Spyro stumbled backward, his eyes spinning in their sockets, indicating he was rather dizzy. Bash also seemed disoriented by the impact, he was laying belly down, struggling to get back on his feet.

"Hit him Cynder!" Spyro said, his voice shaky from his dizziness, pointing at Bash.

Cynder saw the vulnerable position Bash was in. Thanks to Spyro, she could take a clear shot at the brown dragon. And so, with a deep breath, Cynder released a stream of blue lightning, which collided with Bash, just as the brown dragons was about to stand up again. This caused him to give out a pained groan and slump back down.

Afterwards, Bash stayed down, groaning with his eyes closed.

"We give up." Zap said in a weak voice from where he had been knocked over to. The blue dragon was waving a small white flag Cynder had no idea where he'd found.

Then, Cynder heard something strange. She heard something that sounded like a strangled chuckle, that hadn't quite left the throat. She then heard this chuckle get louder, eventually bursting into laughter. Cynder then turned her head toward Bash, the sight stunning her. The brown dragon, she had known to be quite stoic, was laughing heartily as he slowly got up from the ground.

"That was good! Very good!" Bash said, slowly recovering from his laughter. "You're about as good as I imagined, Spyro." He said. turning toward the purple dragon.

At this, Spyro finger-gunned Bash with one paw, keeping the other on his still hurting forehead.

"And you," Bash picked up, turning toward Cynder, grinning. "You were a very pleasant surprise. Sorry I tried to brush you off earlier."

Cynder was a little taken back by Bash's words. On one hand, she was grateful for his prase, and on the other she was a little surprised by him admitting trying to ditch her a while ago. However,she and Bash seemed to be on the same page now, so she decided to be civil.

"Thanks Bash," Cynder replied, smiling pleasantly. "You were a pretty good opponent." She said, honestly.

"Aw, come on," Zap's voice suddenly spoke up loudly. "You moped the floor with us!" He complained as he slowly shuffled to Bash's side, limping slightly.

"Yeah, they kind of did," Another, slightly synthesised voice stated jokingly.

Cynder turned her head to where the voice had come from. She saw Drobot and Whirlwind descend from their seats and walk up to them.

"That was really impressive," Drobot continued. "You abilities are quite remarkable, Cynder. Did you learn them from someone or did they come naturally?" He inquired, leaning close to Cynder, looking at her analytically.

"Uhhh, I… don't… know?" Cynder responded awkwardly, a little uncomfortable with Drobot's probing.

"Well guys," Spyros suddenly picked up, addressing Bash and Zap. "I gotta say, you two didn't do too well," He said, walking up to the two dragons. "Any ideas why?" He asked, waiting for Bash and Zap to answer.

"Because… you're better than us?" Zap suggested unconvincingly.

"Apart from that of course," Spyro replied jokingly.

"Because you weren't a team." A new voice stated.

At the familiar sound of the voice, Cynder turned around, searching for its source. She couldn't hold back a small yelp when she turned around to see Cyrus standing a few feet away, his tired, slightly venomous green eyes looking straight at her. _"He's really quiet."_ Cynder thought to herself, surprised by the fact she hadn't heard a single sound to alert her of the indigo dragon's approach.

"Could you speak up, sleepy?" Zap asked in a derisive tone. "I couldn't hear you mumbling from over here."

"Zap, please cool it." Spyro growled at the blue dragon, protective of his brother.

After this, Cyrus let out a low sigh and spoke louder. "The two of you," He began, gesturing at Zap and Bash. "Fought completely separately, you never tired helping the other." He pointed out.

"That's right," Spyro began after his brother. "Me and Cynder beat you two, because we worked together," He said, giving Cynder a smile and nod. "We communicated and coordinated our attacks. You two, just kinda winged it." He said, as he did, his expresion became a little more serious, as if he was recalling something. "Trust me, out of experience, I could tell."

At that, there was a small pause. Everyone stayed silent, Cynder imagined thinking Spyro and Cyrus' words through.

Then, the silence was broken. "Thank you for your insight," Bash said suddenly. "I'll be sure to keep it in mind for the future." And then, just like that, the brown dragon turned around and began to walk off.

"W-Wait, did you thank me or Cyrus?" Spyro asked, his friend, apparently as confused as Cynder by the brown dragon's ambiguity.

"Yeah, alright," Zap picked up. "Teamwork and all that stuff, I get it. But I'm hungry," He said, a conveniently timed growl emanating from his stomach. "Is there a place to get a bite around here?" He asked, turning his head around.

At that, Spyro let out a stressed sigh. "Yeah, Zap, there's a cafeteria near the courtyard." He said.

"Nice!" Zap exclaimed, then turned over to Drobot. "Heya dude, wanna come over? We could practice this whole teamwork deal Spyro's preaching about afterwards." he suggested.

"I-I'd be glad to!" Drobot replied energetically.

"Alright, dude!" Zap cheered, bumping Drobot on the shoulder. "Let's get going then!"

"Uh… guys?" A soft voice picked up suddenly. "C-Could I come along?" Whirlwind asked.

At that, Cynder noticed Zap and Drobot hesitated. They then glanced at each other and then back at Whirlwind. "Uhhh, yeaaah. If you want to?" Zap said in a strange voice.

Cynder noticed the two dragons took a step back from Whirlwind, and that they were focusing their gaze on the white horn on the dragoness' head. Whirlwind seemed to notice this. She then turned her head to the side, covering her head with one of her wings.

Cynder didn't understand what had happened, but before she could say something, Zap spoke up. "Again, if you want to, you can come," He said, trying to sound welcoming.

"Yeah, feel free to catch up with us later if you want," Drobot continued. "We'll… be around." He added awkwardly.

"Y-Yeah, thanks." Whirlwind replied shakily, not looking over to the two dragons.

After this, Zap and Drobot glanced back at each other, shrugging at each other before turning around and flying off, heading toward where Spyro had told them the cafeteria was, leaving the rest behind. Cynder then looked down and saw Whirlwind, slowly began to walk away, her long ears low

"Whirlwind?" Cynder head Spyro call. "Are… Are you alright?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, Spyro," Whirlwind responded in a low tone. "I'm fine. I'm just going to take a walk." She said, before flying off, leaving no chance from Spyro or anyone to try and reply.

As she saw the cyan dragoness leave, Cynder felt a strange feeling. It made her lose her appetite and lowered her spirits. Seeing Whirlwind like that made her feel really down.

"I don't understand," Cyrus' voice sounded suddenly. "Aren't _I_ the one they're supposed to hate?" He asked genuinely, looking up at where Whirlwind had flown off to.

"They don't hate her," Spyro interjected, speaking a little defensively. "I… I just don't know. Maybe…" His voice trailed off. He clearly had no explanation to give. Afterwards, Spyro hung his head down, frowning.

"I need to go somewhere," Cyrus stated flatly. "Please don't follow." He asked in a polite yet strict tone.

"Cyrus?" Spyro picked up. "Where are you going, bro?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"It's important," Cyrus answered vaguely. "Or at least… I hope it is." He added, a hint of hesitation in his eyes. "In any case, you shouldn't worry about me, Spyro." He picked up, suddenly sounding less severe. "You have more comfortable company to indulge." He said, shifting his eyes to Cynder. After this, the indigo dragon rapidly raised and dropped his eyebrows while grinning, implication heavy in his gesture.

At that, Cynder could feel herself blush. She tried covering her red cheeks with her paws and turned away from Cyrus.

"Y-Yeah, alright pal, I changed my mind," Spyro's voice started, sounding flustered. "You can go off wherever." He said.

At this, Cyrus let out a small chuckle before flying off, leaving Cynder and Spyro by themselves. Afterwards, Cynder let go of her cheeks as she felt the awkward heat drain from them. Then, Cynder turned around, facing Spyro. She noticed his cheeks also had a tinge of red and that he was absentmindedly scratching one of them, averting his eyes.

"Well, you know…" Spyro spoke up suddenly. "It's… not like I don't like… having you around or anything." He said in a meek voice, still looking away.

At that, Cynder could feel heat return to her cheeks. "Yeah totally!" Cynder replied, a little loudly. "I like spending time with you too." She said with a nervous chuckle.

Spyro then gave her a small smile. "Well, uh, in that case, wanna… go somewhere?" He asked, slightly ducking his head.

"Sure!" Cynder answered. "Where do you want to go?" She asked back, smiling and feeling bubbly all of a sudden.

At that, Spyro furrowed his brow a little, turing to his right for a second, as if he was thinking. After a few moments, the purple dragon's eyes lit up and a smile began tugging at his lips.

"I think I have an idea," He said, suddenly shaking his wings with energy and smiling broadly. "Follow me!" He invited cheerfully, just before he used his wings to boost himself up into the air.

"Hey, wait up!" Cynder exclaimed as she flew up after her friend, surprised by Spyro's behaviour.

As Cynder tried flying upwards, attempting to catch up with Spyro, the purple dragon began speeding away. "C'mon Cynder!" Spyro called, flying fast enough to stay out of Cynder's reach.

Cynder then tried to fly forward, but when she did, Spyro flew backwards, keeping a distance between the two of them. This confused Cynder, so she tried approaching again, this time circling around her friend before closing in. In response to this, Spyro simply dove down, avoiding Cynder before rising back to where he previously was. All the while, the purple dragon had a playful grin on his face.

"Spyro," Cynder sighed, her lips curling up slowly as she figured out what Spyro was trying to do.

Afterwards, Cynder saw Spyro turn around and, with a boost of his wings fly off, leaving her behind, however, the sound of gleeful laughter followed the purple dragon. This signaled Cynder to follow.

With a powerful motion of her wings, the violet dragoness shot forward, chasing after Spyro. She saw Spyro turn his head back, noticing her. After this, the purple dragon picked up steam and soared upwards, cueing Cynder to do the same.

Once she had leveled with Spyro once again, Cynder saw as the purple dragon continued flying, Cynder just behind him. Both dragons soared through the blue, cloudy sky, turing and gracefully. Cynder could feel the gentle push of the wind against her face, beneath her wings. The feeling was incomparable, flying so freely through the air, with her close friend by her side no less, made the violet dragoness let out a cheerful howl. "Whoohoo!"

At this, Cynder heard Spyro let out a hearty laugh as he kept going, just before he flew into a large cloud, passing lazily nearby. Cynder was about to rush into the cloud as well, but suddenly, shifting her weight and changing the beat of her wings, she stopped herself midair. As she looked at the cloud Spyro had hidden behind, she narrowed her eyes slightly. After thinking for a little bit, she smirked mischievously, for a better idea clicked into place in her head.

Then, with a silent wingbeat, Cynder rose high up above the clouds, so she could see down at where Spyro would have been hiding. Surely enough, she saw Spyro waiting patiently for her on the other side of the cloud he had hidden behind. He had his arms stretched out, a broad grin on his face, clearly planing on catching Cynder once she had followed him into the cloud.

However, the violet dragoness had outsmarted him. So, taking advantage of Spyro's unawareness, Cynder slowly crept nearer to the purple dragon, silently getting in position above her friend. Then, she bent back and stopped moving her wings, allowing herself to fall.

Cynder fell down, with her arms stretched out wide and as she let out a joyous laugh, she fell herself bump into Spyro, who she wrapped her arms around. This surprise, made the purple dragon tense up and let out a short frightened yelp, which in turn made Cynder giggle and smile widely.

Once Spyro realized it was her, Cynder felt the purple dragon loosen up and hug her back. Afterwards, the two dragons fell through the air, holding one another. Cynder stared at Spyro's eyes and he stared into hers. She could feel herself smile, the wind grazing her scales gently, Spyro's touch slowly spreading a pleasant warmth through her body.

Then, Cynder felt Spyro move his wings in a powerful motion. Suddenly, the two dragons were no longer falling through the blue sky, instead Spyro held Cynder steady, keeping both of them afloat.

But then, Cynder felt Spyro slowly pull her away, smiling at her as he did. However, he kept one of his paws on one of hers, holding it caringly. "Come on," He said softly, gesturing at a nearby isle before letting go of Cynder, heading toward the floating patch of land.

At that, Cynder followed Spyro to the isle. The green floating rock was small, but not tiny. It was large enough for both of them to wander slightly. However, as Spyro touched down on the isle, he laid down on the grass-covered ground, letting out a relaxed sigh as he looked out at the horizon.

At this, Cynder touched down as well, slowly walking up to Spyro. Once she was by his side, Cynder laid down beside him, leaning a bit of her weight to his side. She then felt the purple dragon stretch out one of his wings, coving her back with it, like a blanket. Cynder then closed her eyes, the comforting warmth that Spyro's touch radiated, made her feel relaxed. She rested her head against him, nudging his neck lightly with the tip of her snout.

It was strange, Cynder felt lighter than usual, a curious fluttering sensation in her stomach, like butterflies. She could feel her heart beating, tapping lightly in her chest. And so, the two dragons spent a pleasant moment, nothing but the sound of the mellow breeze passing them by.

However, the moment was interrupted. "Cynder?" Spyro's voice suddenly spoke in a soft tone.

"Yeah?" Cynder replied drowsily, keeping her eyes closed.

"I… I think… I need to talk with you about something." Spyro stated, his voice sounding strange, as if he was concerned about something. "It's… important." He added, lifting his wing off Cynder.

At that, Cynder opened her eyes, slowly lifting her head to look at Spyro. The purple dragon seemed distracted, if not a little distant. His eyes were focused on the horizon, far away. His eye lids were slightly drooped and a small, sad frown tugged at his lips.

"Hey," Cynder called mellowly, softly nudging Spyro's neck with her snout again. "What's wrong?" She asked caringly.

Spyro turned to face Cynder. He ran his eyes over her, almost as if to confirm she really was there with him. Then, after a low sigh, Spyro spoke. "Cynder, you know there's… a new bad guy around, right?" He asked.

When Spyro did this, Cynder conjured memories of how she had found Spyro and his friends, covered in frostbite and cuts, cold as the grave and knocked out. She remembered Spyro waking up screaming in terror after they brought him back to the Academy, and she remembered Master Eon and Kaossandra telling them the name of the one responsible for all of it.

"Vixen," Cynder whispered the dragon slayer's name. When she did, she noticed Spyro shivered, a short, yet noticeable tremble.

"Yeah, that's the one," Spyro spat dryly, his features hiding small hits of fright. Cynder could see his pupils dilated slightly, becoming smaller.

"Well, what about her?" Cynder asked tentatively. "What's on your mind?"

"I…" Spyro started slowly. "I don't think I've ever been that scared before, Cynder," Spyro stated, his voice shaky. "Not with Malefor, not with Strykore, not with Omen," He listed, recalling each extraordinary foe with disdain. "Cynder, I couldn't do _anything_ to her," He said, despair growing in his voice. "She defeated me and all the others like we were nothing! And now, she's out there-" He continued, gesturing out at the horizon. "-And she's coming for me- for _them_." He said clenching his paws to fists, the slow tremor returning to him.

Cynder realized who Spyro was talking about. He was talking about the other six dragons, the new recruits.

"Now that they are training to become Skylanders," Spyro continued. "I'm responsible for what happens to them. And… If- if she…" His voice trailed off, his shaking getting worse as he tired futilely to get out the dreaded words he wanted to say. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself, I just, I can't let her hurt them." He said somberly, slowly steadying himself.

Cynder stared at Spyro in silence. She felt a huge wave of concern wash over her, like a thick, heavy rain. She had no idea Spyro had this weight on his shoulders. Looking after six dragons and protecting them from a psychopathic dragon serial killer didn't exactly sound like an easy task, especially for a single person.

Cynder resolved to help. She had to, she cared too much for Spyro to just let him feel like he had to carry that burden on his own. So, taking a long, deep sigh, Cynder very carefully though her next words through.

"Spyro," Cynder began, calling her friend's attention. "I… understand you're going through a lot right now. You have this whole new responsibility to own up to and there's this new big bad villian to take care of. But-" She paused, looking up at her friend. "No matter how difficult things might seem... a hero always pulls through." She said, giving her friend a warm, loving smile.

Spyro's eyes went round after hearing Cynder's words. "Y-You really believe that, Cynder?" He asked.

"I do," Cynder replied, not doubting her words. "Because I met _you_." She added as she slowly twirled her tail around Spyro's.

Spyro's cheeks then turned a tinge of red beneath his purple scales. He looked at Cynder, his red eyes glistening, his mouth just barely open.

" _He remembers."_ Cynder thought to herself, overjoyed. The words Cynder had spoken, had come from the heart. She remembered hearing those exact words come from Spyro, the day he and his friends helped her become a Skylander. From that day on, Cynder had treasured those words, because to her at least, they meant Spyro truly believed in her, that he really cared.

So now, during her dear friend's time of trying, she decided to open her heart, and return the words that meant so much to her.

"And, Spyro?" Cynder picked up. "I just want you to know that, you're not alone in this. You'll have all your friends behind you, you'll have Master Eon and Kaossandra to help you out and well… you'll have me too." She finished, meaning each word entirely.

However, all out of a sudden, Cynder realized something. "Well, actually…" She picked up, surprising Spyro. "We kind of have some trouble of our own." She said, as she fiddled with her paws, covering her eyes out of embarrassment. "That Muno guy? The second in command to the One-Eyed Legion? He's… still out there." She said.

"So now we have to go and find him." Cynder started up, swaying her head to the right. "Stop whatever plan his cooking up with his new minions," She added, swaying her head to the left. "And beat him in a hopefully epic fight." She finished, swaying her head to the right once again. "So, uh. We might not actually get to _be_ here per se," She said, chuckling nervously. "But, you know what I mean." She finished, holding in one paw one of her suddenly reddened cheeks, still not looking directly at Spyro.

Spyro took a little bit to reply to Cynder's words. However, soon enough, the purple dragon spoke. "I love it when you do that." He said with a warm smile, catching Cynder off guard.

"Uh, wha-what do you mean?" Cynder asked shakily, flustered.

"You know," Spyro began. "That little-" He paused, gently swaying his head to the sides. "Head sway thing you do. It's really cute." He chuckled lightly.

Cynder then felt her whole face warm up. She suddenly shut her eyes and covered her face in her paws. She never thought her little quirk would be cute to anyone, it was rather strange to hear it from someone else, especially Spyro.

Then, Cynder felt something diferent. She felt Spyro's paws slowly grab hers, lowering them gently off her face. After this, opened her eyes to see Spyro. His red eyes looking into hers. He was smiling, a thin, warm smile. Cynder felt her heart skip a beat, beating faster, yet slower, causing a strange, tingling sensation to spread through her body.

Cynder then felt Spyro let go of one of her paws, moving it to her cheek, caressing her gently with his thumb. She closed her eyes, resting her head on Spyro's hold, enjoying the pleasant sensation.

Then, Cynder felt Spyro move her head a little, changing its position ever so slightly. Then Cynder felt Spyro kiss her. Cynder squeezed her paw, the one Spyro was holding. She kissed him back, their lips connecting gently, passion building up slowly in their kiss. Spyro kept a hold of her, still tracing his thumb softly through her cheek.

Then, Spyro and Cynder pulled away, pressing their foreheads together as they both caught their breath. Spyro was still holding Cynder's paw, but she felt that he had lowered his other paw. She couldn't see him, because her eyes were still closed, but she could feel him. The warmth of his touch, the sound of his breath, a strangely familiar smell she couldn't quite describe, all of it telling her he was there, with her.

After a moment, Spyro and Cynder separated and opened their eyes. Wide, loving smiles were on their faces.

Spyro then sighed. "Man, I forgot how good it feels to kiss you." He said glancing at Cynder's lips.

She let out a small giggle. "We should get back to the Academy," She suggested. "You have dragons to train." She reminded her friend.

"Yeah, I guess I do," Spyro acknowledged. "I'll just need to round them all up." He said, getting up on his feet. "Well, come on then-" He picked up, offering Cynder a paw to stand up. "Let's head back."

After Cynder took Spyro's paw and got on her feet, she followed Spyro back to the Academy. Both dragons flew, side by side through the clear blue sky, their hearts beating to the same rhythm.

* * *

Thomas was a small mabu, in charge of a small, ceramic stand on the flea market.

Thomas was tending to a small, clay sculpture of a lion. He was carefully wiping off some ash that had darkened the sculpture's bright red mane. Thomas hummed to himself, as he set the now sparkling-clean lion, on a counter for exposition, right beside some other clay sculptures, of rabbits, snakes, eagles and other animals.

His favourite was a large sculpture, about the size of a dinner plate, of a Roc. Not a boulder, but a large, magic bird that could control lightning. Thomas though they were pretty cool, so he carved it in a cool pose, swooping down with its talons stretched out. He also put extra effort into painting it's bright yellow, blue and orange feathers. He had it placed on display, hoping that one day someone would buy it. His best piece, and by extension, his most expensive one.

However, Thomas was tired, he had to work quite a lot recently, because of some Cyclop raiding gang that raided the market about a day ago, setting almost half the place on fire and stealing everything they could carry. In the chaos, almost half of Thoma's stock had been destroyed, so he had to make brand new pieces to sell.

The sky was dark, and cloudy, and customers were very scarce. Because of this pretty much every other shopkeeper had left early, making the flea market look almost completely deserted. This made it so that Thomas was the only person on this row of stands.

The only other person he was convinced was in the market, would be that strange red dragon, the one in charge of a stake-centred stand a few rows away from Thomas' stand. He'd only seen the guy a few times, mainly because he was hungry and had heard the red dragon sold the best steaks in the market. He was a little grumpy, but not bad enough to make Thomas think badly of him. He figured old timers had a lot to complain about.

Thomas was about to pick up another figure from a shelf behind him to clean it up. It was a figurine of a bright green dragon. It had its wings stretched out, about to take flight, but frozen in the moment, encased in clay.

But, just as Thomas picked up the dragon figurine, lifting it off it's shelf, he felt as a hideous wave of cold washed over him. As chills crawled up his spine, spreading goosebumps through his skin, he couldn't help but give out a yelp and drop the dragon sculpture to hug himself in a feeble attempt to ward off the cold.

Thomas looked down, shivering and breathing through his mouth, letting out puffs of white vapor from his mouth. At his feet, he saw the small green drago. One of its wings and it's neck had broken off the main body from the fall.

"Sorry about that." A voice said apologetically from behind Thomas.

It was the voice of a woman, but there was something about it that made it sound off. It was dry, and low. To Thomas, it sounded like the voice of a corpse. This made him turn around, very, very slowly, his shivering getting worse as he did.

When Thomas turned all the way around, he saw a person he had never seen before standing across his stand's counter, looking at his sculptures. This person was almost three times taller than Thomas, so she actually had to kneel down to get a good look at Thomas' work. She had a fox-like head, covered in snow-white fur. She had pale blond hair down to her shoulders and was covering her right eye. She was dressed strangely, in tattered clothes and covered in stained bandages.

She was also wearing a cape which covered her left shoulder. It was a bright purple, and had a strange, leathery texture, like scales of some kind.

Her arms were well built. Her left arm had a strange brown leather and gold bracer. However, the sight of her left arm made Thomas have to put conscious effort into not throwing up. After holding back a sour-tasting gag, and covering his mouth, Thomas avoided making a scene for the stranger to judge.

It looked as if from her elbow down, the stranger's left arm was a mass of dense, bubbling, ink-black tar. Thomas could hear disgusting sounds of thick, viscous bubbles popping and dripping sounds as chunky droplets of the black substance fell off the black mass that vaguely resembled an arm.

The stranger shifted focus from the sculptures, to Thomas, fixating her exposed eye on him. Her black and red eye was glassy and inexpressive, almost as if it was separate from the stranger's face. This made Thomas' chills get worse, he felt like a dot of ice was slowly being traced over him.

"Hello there," The stranger began pleasantly, giving Thomas a fanged smile. "I am Vixen, Vixen Reynald." She introduced herself. "I was wondering, do you know of any place I could get some dragon slayer gear?" She asked calmly.

Thomas took a second to process what the stranger had asked. "Excuse me, what?" Was all Thomas was able to say.

"Dragon slaying gear," Vixen repeated herself. "You know, tungsten armor, permafrost weapons, stuff for killing dragons." She explained casually.

Thomas was at a loss for words. He had absolutely no idea what this stranger was talking about. "Ma'am, I have no idea where to find what you're looking for," He stated truthfully. "Besides, why would you want to kill dragons? Aren't they heroes or something?"

"Heroes!?" Vixen roared suddenly, making Thomas let out a frightened yelp and desperately hug himself as the cold somehow kept getting worse. "Dragons aren't heroes!" Vixen picked up stridently. "They are-" She stopped abruptly.

Thomas noticed Vixen had just stopped talking. Her cold, dead gaze unfocused. Then, Thomas heard her mutter something. _"Eon,"_ She hissed with disdain. "That old fool really did it didn't he?" She asked herself, now speaking at full volume. "I suppose I should have expected him to lie," Vixen sighed. _"He's awfully good at it."_ She muttered. "Argh, curse that old oaf!" She grumbled. _"And his grumpy hag of a spouse."_ She finished in a mutter.

"Well, it would seem I have more work to do than I imagined." Vixen picked up, letting out a stressed-sounding sigh. "And here I thought I was just going to be able to enjoy a good hunt. In any case-" She continued, shifted her gaze through Thomas' sculptures. "-Is there any large construction work around these parts?" She asked what to Thomas sounded like a completely unrelated question. "It would be best of it was something high profile," She explained. _"And flammable."_ She added in a mutter. "You know what? I'll search for myself, I believe I've bothered you long enough." She said, in a mellow tone.

The stranger moved as if she was about to leave, however, she stopped suddenly. Something had caught her eye. "That's a nice roc," Vixen said, pointing at the roc sculpture Thomas had made. "How much?" She asked, keeping an eye on the figurine.

Thomas swallowed hard before answering. "T-Twenty silver?" He said meekly, not wanting to get on the stranger's bad side.

To Thomas' pleasant surprise, Vixen spoke calmly. "That sounds like a fair price. It's very good work." She complimented, sounding honest in her praise.

Vixen the reached out and grabbed the roc sculpture with her left hand, the one that wasn't a black, gelatinous mass. She looked carefully at Thomas' work, a small smile tugging at her lips. "You know," She began, keeping her eyes on the roc. "I love roc birds. They are so majestic, so powerful," She said, as she looked at diferent angles of the sculpture.

"Y-Yeah, I like them too." Thomas said in a shaky voice.

"Did you know they could control lightning?" Vixen asked, looking at Thomas for a second. "A fully grown roc could brew an entire storm." She stated, her voice not making her sound like she was lying.

"And, they were really strong," Thomas added, his voice less shaky than before. His shivering reducing slightly. "They could lift horses, right?"

"They could lift elephants, my friend," Vixen corrected with a chuckle. "And even heavier beasts. They were the true apex predators of their time, fearsome enough to prey on dragons."

"Wh-What?" Thomas asked, taken off guard. "They killed dragons?"

"Oh yes!" Vixen answered enthusiastically. "They were the _original_ dragon slayers! Their talons could slice through dragon scales like butter, their feathers and bodies were so aerodynamic, they could outfly any dragon, and their affinity for storm magic made them more than a match for even the most powerful flames any dragon could spew." She narrated, flashing her jagged, yellowish teeth in a cruel smile, that made Thomas' blood freeze for a second.

"Wow, I… I didn't know that." Thomas admitted, speaking in a low voice.

"Did you know," Vixen picked up. "That roc birds, were one of the few creatures to kill for sport?" She asked, her jagged smile growing larger. "They used to slaughter, massacre dragons. Gutting them like fish, skinning them like pigs." She hissed, morbid delight smeared on her voice. "And they didn't even eat them, they just did it because they wanted to."

Thomas felt blood drain from his face. He felt paralyzed, after hearing Vixen's speech on roc birds, he felt sick about ever thinking such foul creatures were cool.

"That's why," Vixen continued, setting down the roc sculpture on Thomas' counter before reaching for something on her back. "We modeled the Coven's Brand after them." She said as she pulled out what she had reached for.

Grabbing it in her good hand, Vixen held out a strange trinket. It was a circular necklace, made of a dark coppery metal. On its surface, was a blue carving of a roc. It had its wings stretched out and had its talons, were clasped around the eye sockets of what Thomas assumed, was a dragon's skull.

But, before Thomas could try complementing the grim trinket in an attempt to stay on Vixen's good side, the silence that hung over them was interrupted, by a loud, shrill scream of pure horror, echoing in the distance.

"Urgh," Vixen groaned in annoyance, pulling her trinket back. "I knew I should have hidden that old dragon shopkeeper's carcass a little better." She beat herself down.

Thomas noticed that the scream hadn't actually come from that far away. In fact, it sounded like it came from that dragon shopkeeper. Putting two and two together, Thomas began sweating bullets, horrified at what he feared Vixen had done.

"Anyway," Vixen picked up. "I think I have to leave now. So have this-" She paused as she reached for something else behind her back. Then, Thomas saw as Vixen pulled out a small, shiny coin, made of gold. "-And keep the change." She insisted as she laid the coin down on Thomas' counter, just before taking the roc sculpture, holding it carefully with her good hand.

Then, Vixen stood upright, casting her shadow over Thomas, who whimpered at her looming figure. Then, Vixen lifter her nose up and closed her eye. She then sniffed the air, as if she was looking for something, using only her nose. _"So the purple lizard and his friends ran off east, huh?"_ She muttered with despise. "The hunt continues." She hissed smiling cruelly at the horizon. Then, with no warning, Vixen ran off, moving quickly to what Thomas assumed was the east heading off, not turning around.

When Vixen left, Thomas started breathing hard, resting on his counter as he caught his breath. After he was finished, something that took him a good five minutes, he let out a long relieved sigh, not just from the fact the horrible cold Vixen's presence seem to bring had finally dispersed, but because he had been fearing for his life the whole time Vixen had been around and he had been relieved of that terrible sensation. He was actually surprised he didn't get a heart attack throughout the whole exchange.

So, not wanting to tempt fate, Thomas decided to leave his stand. He picked the gold coin Vixen had placed on his counter and headed home, where he planned on staying, not eager at all for a chance to see the terrifying stranger again.

* * *

 _Author's notes_

 _First of all, I want to apologise. I know this took forever and I'm really sorry about that. I really wanted to finish this chapter earlier but I just had a whole lot of other stuff to tend to. Anyway, here's chapter seven, hope you enjoy! And again, there are more chapters comeing, I promise._

-I don't own Skylander's Academy

-So many dragons in one place. What will their fates be? And how will they conect to one another?


	8. Chapter 8

**Skylanders Academy: Song of the Hunt**

by andresponce2002

 **Chapter 8) One-Eyed Ashes**

Cloudcracker prison was basking in radiant sunlight. The inmates were calm and the guards were at ease. Unless you happened to be a new inmate being dragged into the confines of the concrete walls.

And as such, it was not a good day for Unulus.

The tall, skeletal cyclop was being escorted to the lower wing of the prison. He was in chains, shackled and surveyed by about a half-dozen guards who were pulling him around by thick lengths of rope that extended from a heavy iron collar that had put around his neck.

The small, weary mabu looked miniscule and frail to Unulus. Their chubby builds and quivering expressions made Unulus feel like he could just, turn around and calmly stroll away, leaving the guards helpless but to be dragged behind him.

However, he restrained himself. The weak guards were not his only concern. There were many more guards around, nevermind two Skylanders in the prison to keep watch over him.

One of them looked like a really big crocodile had somehow learned to stand on his hind legs. The clear blue hue of his scales and peculiar leather armor made him stand out from the rest of the guards. The second Skylander was a burly, muscle-bound man. He wore scant armor that exposed his red skin and was wearing a hat which held an open flame, like a candle.

The duo kept a watchful eye on Unulus. The cyclop gathered that powering through them and twenty semi-competent mabu guards would be a bit of a stretch, even for him. So, Unulus limited himself to let a tiered sigh when he was brought to a strange lower level of the prison, sealed away from the rest of the building by a large green metal door.

After a brief pause, one of the mabu pulled a nearby lever, then quickly returned to restrain Unulus.

After the door was lifted, Unulus was faced with a gloomy, damp-looking hallway, lined both sides by heavy, rusty cells bars which outlined a total of six cells.

"Well, take a minute to take it all in," The blue skylander behind Unulus began. "Because you are going to be here a long time."

"Yeah, that's right," The red one picked up. "Your evil-doing days are over." He stated. Unulus found his accent quite peculiar, so he had to put conscious effort into not letting out a small chuckle.

"Come on now," The blue Skylander spoke up. "Let's get you to your cell, prisoner!" He ordered, causing the mabu to tug Unulus through the hallway.

As he was dragged through the hallway and his gaze wandered to his sides, Unulus noticed there were a number of people in the cells down here. There was giant blue head with braces and a pink bow, a red pepper monster dressed up as a chef, and a small wizard dressed in green, muttering to a sock puppet of what to Unulus appeared to be a chompie.

After he was dragged to the very end of the hallway, Unulus noticed there was a last pair of cells. To his left, was a cell occupied by a muscular, brown werewolf wearing black leather pants. He was lying down on the cheap prision bed on his cell, not paying any mind to Unulus.

When he turned to his right, Unulus saw a cell, strangely distinct from the rest. It might have been the fact that it was completely made of gold. Bars, furniture and walls, shimmering faintly with yellowish light.

"You should feel honored, rufian," The blue skylander spoke up as he swung the gonded cell door open. "This used to belong to royalty." He chuckled mirthlessly, then gesturing for the mabu to drag Unulus into his new cell.

After this, Unulus was positioned facing to the wall of the cell. He then felt as the mabu guards kicked in the back of the knees. He bent down silently and waited for the guards to remove his shackles and collar. Afterwards, Unulus heard the cell door close behind him. The cell was rather small for Unulus, so the cyclop had to remain crouched down in order to not scrape the ceiling of the room with the spikes on his helmet.

"Well, now that we're in a more, _manageable_ environment," The blue Skylander spoke behind Unulus' back. "Why don't we get some conversation going, hmm?" He suggested, his tone making very obvious implications.

"We know there are still more cyclops out there," The red Skylander stated. "And we know you are their leader." He added.

"We also know," The blue Skylander picked up. "That they have a henchman of your's leading them now."

"If I may," Unulus spoke up, cutting off the Skylanders. "I'd like to take an educated guess as to what it is you want and hopefully save us all some time." He stated. Unulus hated when people didn't cut to the chase, so when silence came from the Skylanders and dragged itself out, he decided to take the initiative. "You want me to tell you where my fellow cyclops are, correct?" He asked.

Unulus heard one of the Skylanders draw breath, as if they were about to speak, indicating that they handent goten the fact Unulus' question had been rhetorical.

"Listen," Unulus spoke in time to cut of the Skylander. "Not only would I never tell you where they are, I don't even know where they are to begin with." He explained. "They aren't under my lead anymore and he who leads them now-" Unulus paused, memories of his brand new second-in-command, flashing through his mind. "-Has aver diferent mind than mine. I truly do not know what he plans to do." He admitted.

"Why would you let him take over your forces?" The red Skylander asked. "And why did you go to face off with Spyro on your own? That seems like a really bad move." He stated.

"I assessed that Spyro," Unulus responded, saying the purple dragons name with a mix of spite and respect. "Would be too much of a threat to the Legion; so, I resolved to eliminate him. However, since I had just come from a skirmish with your other, non-draconic Skylanders," Unulus continued, bitterly remembering the strange team of Skylanders that attacked him at his meeting with Muno. "I wanted to keep as many of my kin away from the danger this battle would pose."

Then, Unulus let out a long, low sigh, lowering his gaze from the wall to the floor. "I just hope he can protect them now." Unulus added in a lower tone, more for himself than for the Skylanders.

"What is that supposed to mean?" The red Skylander asked, sounding entitled and making Unulus hiss in frustration. "You are the bad guys, you're the last people who needs protection."

"Everyone needs protection," Unulus growled, clenching his sharp fists. "From those who don't understand them. Because when someone doesn't understand something, they fear it. And when _you-"_ He hissed loathingly, finally turning around and looking at the Skylanders. "-When you fear something, you scorn it, you cast it out and step all over it." He accused, glaring at the Skylanders, causing them both to take a step back from Unulus' cell and tense up.

"But it matters not," Unulus picked up, his voice losing its power. "The wrongs of old will always haunt my kind," He said, lowering his gaze again, looking at the palms of his hands. "Regardless of how much we regret them." He finished somberly, turning back around to face the wall.

"I believe this has been a truly excellent welcome to your prison, gentlemen," Unulus said flatly. "Is there anything else?" He asked in a tiered tone.

There was silence for a moment, and then for another. Then, after hearing a low sigh come from behind him, Unulus heard two sets of footsteps slowly walk away, leaving him be. After a few moments, the sound of gears turning and of a heavy iron door slamming shut echoed through the hall, indicating that the Skylanders had left.

Then, there was silence and Unulus was allowed to be left in peace. The glittering, golden light of the room mad Unulus' eye hurt, making him squint and lower his gaze to the floor.

The cyclop the let out a low sigh and slowly closed his eye. "Muno," He called his comrades name. "Please, be the leader they need you to be." He pleaded, hoping beyond hope to be heard. "Succeed where I have failed."

* * *

Stealth Elf was waiting at the Academy Infirmary. The she-elf was leaning against the wall of the building's entrance, arms crossed and tapping her foot. The sky above Stealth Elf was clear blue, the day was sunny and the sound of birds chirping nearby made her feel relaxed while she waited. She hummed to herself quietly, smiling a small, pleasant smile as she saw her fellow Skylanders going about their day nearby.

Stealth Elf was waiting for her friend Jet-Vac, to be healed from a nasty injury he had received recently. The senior Skylander had been shot by some Cyclop named Muno, a high-ranking cyclop who was second-in-command to Unulus, and who could fire powerful lasers from his eye.

However, Stealth Elf was not particularly concerned about the whole thing. Not only had Jet-Vac been brought to medical aid in time, according to what Master Eon had told her and her friends, Unulus had been captured and sent to Cloudcracker Prison, right where he was meant to be. She had also been told that it was none other than her favorite purple dragon, Spyro, who had made this happen.

Stealth Elf then picked up on something, a strange sound. Her long ears moved upwards slightly as she heard footsteps approaching her, coming from the inside of the nursery.

In just a couple of seconds, Stealth Elf saw the blue doors of the infirmary open beside her. From within these doors, came an elderly, avian Skylander, sporting a wide, energetic smile.

"Hey, JV." Stealth Elf greeted mellowly.

Jet-Vac quickly turned to his right, to where Stealth Elf was. His smile widened when he laid eyes on his friend. "Hello, lass," He began, giving Stealth Elf a small wave. "How have you been?"

"I think I should be the one asking you that," Stealth Elf stated. "You were shot, remember?" She reminded her friend, giving him a serious glare.

"Oh please!" Jet-Vac exclaimed, waving away Stealth Elf's concern. "It would take much more than a little laser to take _this_ Skylander down." He stated proudly, pointing at himself with his thumb.

"Riiiight," Stealth Elf sighed, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, If you really are feeling better," Stealth Elf picked up. "We should head over to talk to Master Eon and Kaossandra. We still have a job to do."

"You're quite right," Jet-Vac agreed. "However, I must say," Jet-Vac paused, looking over to the horizon as he scratched his chin. "I do believe it's been awhile since I've seen Spyro." He stated, suddenly reminding Stealth Elf herself of that fact. "I wonder how the young chap is doing."

"I'm sure he's fine," Stealth Elf said, trying her best to sound reassuring. "I just imagine he's pretty busy. Training six dragons can't be an easy thing to do." She sighed.

The she-elf couldn't help but feel a little down. She hadn't had a chance to even say _hello_ to her friend in a while now. In between then having to deal with the One-Eyed Legion and Spyro having to handle a whole new team of Skylander trainees, the old group of friends hadn't had a chance to catch up with one another.

"I know it's a downer," Jet-Vac picked up, putting a hand on Stealth Elf's shoulder. "Things have taken a sort of turn for the strange as of late, but I'm sure we'll get back on track eventually." He promised, patting Stealth Elf's Shoulder softly.

At that, Stealth Elf let out a small smile. "Thanks Jet-Vac," She replied. "We should get moving now. The headmasters will be waiting for us."

"You're right, we should get going," Jet-Vac agreed. "Wouldn't want to get back on duty on a low note!" He said, stretching his arms, trying to look cool.

"Yeah," Stealth Elf replied with a small giggle. "You do that JV." She said, before tapping her friend on the shoulder and walking a few steps away.

When Stealth Elf turned around, she gave her friend a mischievous wink and wave and waited just long enough to see Jet-Vac's eyes widen with realisation, creating a priceless expression just seconds before Stealth Elf teleported away.

* * *

Stealth Elf was in the Academy common room, waiting for her friends. Eon and Kaossandra were not in the room right now, so Stealth Elf guessed they were in the Relics Room, discussing something of importance.

Stealth Elf's thoughts were interrupted when the sound of the Academy gates being swung open filled the room. At this, the she-elf turned her head toward the entrance to the room. There, she saw many familiar faces. Her friends, Pop Fizz, Eruptor and Jet-Vac were just arriving.

"Hey Elfy!" Eruptor greeted, giving Stealth Elf a wave. "What's up?" He asked, taking a look around the room.

"Nothing much," Stealth Elf responded with a smile. "Just waiting on you guys."

"Well," Pop Fizz stepped in. "You wouldn't have to wait so much if you just walked with us instead of teleporting around and leaving us behind." The blue gremling mocked.

"Amen to that." Jet-Vac said, patting Pop Fizz on the back and giving Stealth Elf a short glare, expressing his distaste for Stealth Elf's prank a while ago. However, the senior Skylander's gaze softened and before long, he rolled his eyes as a small chuckle escaped his throat.

Before the Skylanders could continue their conversation, the loud sound of heavy bookcases sliding through the floor, indicating the vault to the Relics Room had been opened.

In response to this, Stealth Elf and the Skylanders focused their attention on the common room balcony. There, they saw Kaossandra and Eon, standing over them.

"Hello everyone," Kaossandra began in a friendly tone. She then focused on Jet-Vac, giving the senior Skylander a slightly worried glance. "Jet-Vac, are you feeling alright?" She asked.

"I am, Kaossandra," Jet-Vac answered steadily. "And I'm ready for anything you can throw at me." He stated with a confident smile.

"Well, if that is the case, old friend," Eon started up. "I believe we do have quite an important matter for you all to tend to." He stated making the Skylanders focus.

"As you know," Kaossandra picked up. "The One-Eyed Legion is still at large. Despite Unulus being caught and sent to Cloudcracker Prison, their faction is still operational."

"It appears," Master Eon continued. "That the cyclop called _Muno_ , is in charge of things now. As long as these creatures have a leader to rally to, they will continue to be a threat."

"But, we have good news," Kaossandra interjected, making the Skylanders listen eagerly to the sorceress' words. "We have received reports of the One-Eyed Legion's whereabouts. The coordinates for their general location have been provided to us by an ally of ours." She explained, making Stealth Elf wonder who this ally could be.

Kaossandra continued speaking however, making Stealth Elf focus. "This means that if you are all up to the task, we could finally put an end to their chapter on the Skylands." She said, crossing her arms over her chest and giving the Skylanders a severe look.

"Heroes," Master Eon spoke up. "Are you all ready to embark on this mission and face it's many dangers?" He asked in his dramatic voice, stretching one of his arms in front of him in a theatrical fashion.

"You bet we are!" Eruptor exclaimed energetically. "I can't wait to give those punks a good bruising after shooting my friend!" He declared, slamming his fists together.

"You can count on us," Stealth Elf stated. "We won't let these guys get away anymore." She promised, determined to make her words come true.

"I know you will," Kaossandra said softly, focusing a warm gaze on Stealth Elf. "You go and show them, dear."

At that, Stealth Elf's felt herself smile. She was happy Kaossandra still thought highly of her, even after all this time. She then gave Kaossandra a firm nod, which cued the sorceress to do a small head bow.

"Alright everyone!" Jet-Vac began. "Let's get going, we have cyclops to stop!"

"Yeah!" The Skylanders cheered in unison, ready for their next mission.

* * *

Stealth Elf was standing around her friends at the Academy Portal Gates. They were waiting for Sprocket to hand them their Relay Badges. The bronze-skinned Skylander walked up to the group of friends with a small copper box, which she then opened, revealing the small, circular, dual-colored devices within.

"You guys are off to put a stop that Muno guy, right?" Sprocket asked while the Skylanders each grabbed a Relay Badge and placed it over their chest.

"Yeah, that's the idea, Sprocket," Eruptor responded as he placed his badge onto place, causing the blue rim to glow faintly against his chest.

"I was told the coordinates for your mission by the headmistress," Sprocket stated, making the Skylanders listen eagerly. "So, if you're ready-" She gestured at the portal Gates platform while she stepped toward the large monitor to the Skylanders' right. "-I'd imagine you have quite a lot of bad guys to catch." She said as she started pressing buttons on the monitor and putting focus on it's screens.

Stealth Elf then walked onto the platform, soon followed by her friends. Then, after a short wait, Stealth Elf's world was overtaken by a pure, white light. She felt a sensation similar to what she experienced when she teleported, only _bigger_ somehow. She felt like she was skydiving, even though she was standing still.

After a few moments, Stealth Elf felt herself touch down on solid ground once again. She turned her head around, her eyes slowly adjusting to her new surroundings. However, Stealth Elf quickly furrowed her brow in confusion.

Even though she felt herself land after being transported through the Skylands by Sprocket, her vision was still pure, bright whiteness. As her eyes focused further, Stealth Elf managed to notice that she had indeed been brought to a diferent location by the Portal Gates, it was just covered in pristine, stark-white snow.

Stealth Elf was about to call out for her friends, but was stopped when a strong wind blew over her. The air current was cold enough to convince Stealth Elf winter had suddenly dropped over her. It made her start shivering and almost instinctively wrap her arms around herself and haunch over.

"By the Skylands!" A familiar voice exclaimed behind Stealth Elf. "It's freezing around here!"

"Jet-Vac?" Stealth Elf called at the sound of her friend's voice.

"Stealth Elf?" The senior Skylander responded.

"Pop Fizz!" The blue gremlin energetically shouted his own name out of nowhere.

"Eruptor?" The magma Skylander finished the terrible joke with a confused note.

Stealth Elf then turned around to see her friends, all shivering and hugging themselves. All except for Eruptor who had a confused expression on his face as he looked awkwardly around, one of his eyebrows curved upward.

"G-Guys, where _are_ we?" Stealth Elf asked, trying to speak steadily through the cold. "Is this were the Legion was sighted?" She wondered

"Well, it's cold and far away," Jet-Vac started up, taking a look around. "I'm not sure I know."

"Well, _I_ do, fellas!" A new voice shouted from the distance.

Stealth Elf's face lit up and her eyes widened. She remembered that voice, it's thick scottish accent and energetic tone were unmistakable. With a smile steadily spreading through her lips, Stealth Elf turned back around, to the source of her old friend's voice.

After this, Stealth Elf looked up to see a blue she-elf, sporting iron armor and waving cheerfully at her and the Skylanders.

"Avril!" Stealth Elf called her friend's name as she waved back, the cold surrounding her slightly diminishing.

"Hello my friends!" Avril greeted back. "It's good to see you back around here!" She said, slowly descending the snow-covered hill she was on.

"Well," Stealth Elf began, slowly composing herself and standing up right. "We did promise to come visit." She said, remembering the promise she had made last time she had seen her friend.

"Ah, it's so good to see you all!" Avril cheered as she rushed over and bear hugged Stealth Elf, making her let out a strained breath from the tight embrace.

Before Stealth Elf could hug back, Avril let go and proceeded to hug Pop Fizz, then Eruptor and then finally Jet-Vac. When the she-elf hugged the senior Skylander, a strange crackling noise came from his back, accompanied by a small, bird-like yelp.

Afterwards, Avril looked around for a second, almost as if she was looking for someone. She then turned around and looked at Stealth Elf. "Oi, where's your friend? That, Spyro fella?" She asked, waiting patiently for an answer.

At that, Stealth Elf felt a bit of the cold around her creep back in. Her eyes drooped slightly and her smile wavered as she was reminded of the fact her friend was not around.

Avril seemed to notice this, and looked like she wanted to speak once again, however, she was cut off by Jet-Vac. "Spyro's busy right now. He has a bit of a personal assignment to tend to while we handle things over here." He explained.

"Oh, I see." Avril sighed. "Shame, I liked the guy. Anyway, I suppose you lot will probably want to get somewhere warmer, right?" She asked, nudging Stealth Elf's shoulder.

"That would be great Avril," Stealth Elf said with a smile. "Besides, we have a lot of work to do." She said, her assignment clear in her mind.

* * *

"Alright," Jet-Vac began, letting out a sight as he rested his weight on the wooden table he was looming over. "Tell me the whole thing again, just a little slower, please?" He pleaded, lifting his head to look at Avril.

The senior Skylander and his companions had been taken to Winter Keep by Avril. The frost elf had gathered them all in the main hall of Winter Keep bastion and made them stand around a large, ancient-looking map of the region they were in.

Avril let out an exasperated sigh before she began repeating herself. "Look, our scouts said they saw cyclops returning to this area," She began, gesturing at the map. "Our best chance at finding Muno and his goons is their Great Hall," She stated, pointing at an area on the map. "It's not that far away from here and I believe a large building decorated with animal skins can't be too hard to find." She said as she tapped her finger over the map.

"Can we expect any backup from the frost elf guard?" Stealth Elf asked suddenly, leaning into the table.

"Unfortunately," Avril began in a down note. "We have a bit of a problem. Ever since mister purple eye sacs-" Avril spoke in a mocking tone, naming who Jet-Vac assumed was Cyrus. "-Blew a hole on our outer wall and had an army of cyclops gift half out troops a full set of casts, we've been a bit…" She paused, considering her words. " _Restricted_ , in our ability to scout the area. So, I'd say the best you guys can get in the ways of backup is little ol' me." She said, gesturing proudly at herself.

"I think that's more than enough," Stealth Elf said with a chuckle.

Jet-Vac then saw the two elves exchange a friendly fist bump and respectful nods.

"Alright then," Eruptor spoke up. "So the plan is; we go to their Great Hall place, beat everyone up and take this Muno guy back to Cloudcracker prison, right?" He asked, glancing between Jet-Vac, Avril and Stealth Elf.

"Yes Eruptor," Stealth Elf began. "That's the plan." She sighed.

"Allright, no doubts from me," Eruptor said merily. "Just point me to where the fighting is and I'll do my part." He said in a relaxed tone as he picked up a nearby chair and leaned down on it, smiling cockily.

"Riiight," Jet-Vac began, glancing from Eruptor to Avril. "Well Avril, I imagine you've kind of been dealing with these one-eyed hooligans for quite a bit longer than us," He stated, causing Avril to focus on him. "Any advice?" He asked.

Avril took a minute. She glanced away and held her chin, as if she was thinking. "I don't think I've met this Muno character," She began, scratching her chin a little faster. "But. If he's one of those spell caster ones, the ones with the big magnifying glasses?" She paused, waving an imaginary magnifying glass in front of her face, as well as jogging Jet-Vac's memory about the robbed enemies. "Then my personal recommendation, is that you guys smash those things. They can't focus their fire otherwise." She explained.

"Huh, why didn't we think of that?" Pop Fizz asked, scratching his head.

"Because," Avril began. "You lot, haven't been fighting these punks for longer than a month." She said proudly. "Anyway, if we're really going to do this, we should get moving now. If you think this place is cold now, you don't want to get caught oth here at night." She warned.

"We'll take your word on that," Jet-Vac said, just the idea of this place being any colder sending chills down his neck. "So, everyone?" He picked up, looking at his teammates. "Are we ready for this!?" He asked, trying to get his friends into the mood.

"You bet we are JV!" Eruptor stated boldly, slamming his frists together.

"We're ready." Stealth Elf stated confidently, pulling up her bandana and giving Jet-Vac a steady nod.

"I'll be ready when someone gets me a coat," Pop Fizz said. "That cold out there is not good for my health." He stated as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

Everyone in the room let out a collective groan at the blue gremlin's lack of cooperation.

"I'll get you a coat," Avril promised. "But, again, we really need to get moving. You guys are gonna have a really bad time around here if nighttime catches you." She warned, giving the Skylanders a serious look.

"Alright then, Avril," Jet-Vac began, speaking steadily. "Let's do this."

But, before anything else could be heard, the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat echoed through the room, making Jet-Vac release a low, tired sigh. "After we get Pop Fizz' coat." He finished in a defeated tone.

* * *

Stealth Elf walked beside Avril, followed closely by her fellow Skylanders as the group traversed the snow-covered terrain that surrounded Winter Keep.

Avril had been leading them through the region in a steady, certain trail. Despite the frost elf not having brought a map, she led the Skylanders with unhesitant drive. It was almost as if she knew the place like the back of her hand, and her confidence made it so that Stealth Elf couldn't bring herself to question her.

The others however, weren't so inspired. "How much longeeeer?" Pop Fizz, who was in a large, fuzzy brown winter coat, complained loudly as he dragged his arms through the snow behind him.

"My legs are getting sore." Eruptor groaned. "Are we there yet?"

"We're almost there, friends," Avril responded, keeping her eyes forward. "It should be through that valley." She stated as she pointed forward.

At that, Stealth Elf came to a stop and looked to where Avril was pointing. She saw a large clearing between two large hills which were covered in ice. Across this clearing, Stealth Elf saw a large, brown construct standing above another hill, undamaged by the snow and wind.

"Is that their Main Hall?" Stealth Elf asked, keeping her eyes on the structure.

"Yup, that's the one." Avril confirmed. "But, something's off." She said in a strange tone.

That made Stealth Elf feel a little concerned. "What's wrong, Avril?"

"There's no one standing guard," Avril stated. "And the place looks abandoned." She added.

The group then proceeded, slowly entering the clearing just before the Main Hall. Just like Avril had said, there was not a single guard in sight, and now that Stealth Elf was closer to the Main Hall, she could tell there was actually a decent amount of wear and tear on the wooden, fur-covered external walls of the building. She guessed it must have been from long-term neglect.

The building had a large wooden door, which was decorated with an intricate, red ink pattern that resembled a huge eye. The wood and ink were rotting and the door was hanging slightly ajar, allowing Stealth Elf to get a miniscule peek at the inside of the building.

Avril then suddenly rushed up the hill and came to a stop just before the wooden gates of the building.

"Avril!" Jet-Vac hissed. "Be careful!"

Stealth Elf felt a little worried about her friend's lack of hesitation in this situation. For all they knew, this could be a trap. Avril however, continued to very slowly push the wooden gate open and then peeked inside. The frost elf the pulled her head back out, not a scratch on her. Avril then waved everyone to come closer, apparently the coast was clear.

Stealth Elf and the others walked up to the hill, keeping their eyes on the wooden door. Stealth Elf was a little put off by how dark the inside of the Main Hall was. The only light that reached the empty space within, was the one that came from the opened door.

"Are we really going in there?" Pop Fizz asked shakily. "That's really dark."

"Don't worry my friend!" Jet-Vac began suddenly. "My vac gun had a flashlight function integrated into it." He stated proudly as he began pushing buttons on his weapon.

"Of course it does." Eruptor whispered as he rolled his eyes behind Jet-Vac.

After a few seconds, Jet-Vac's weapon ejected a small lightbulb from it's barril. The lightbulb then began emitting a bright yellowish light, which Jet-Vac shone at the dark interior of the Main Hall.

"Well then," Avril spoke up. "I guess we'll be following you, friend." She said as she nudged Jet-Vac to enter step through the wooden gates

At that, Jet-Vac just stared blankly at the darkes inside the Main Hall. Then, with no warning other than a small twitch of fear from the senior Skylander, a small blue egg drop from between Jet-Vacs legs, rolling away down the snowy hill.

"A-Alright everyone," Jet-Vac started, trying his hardest to steady his voice. "Let's do this thing." He said, swallowing hard before kicking the wooden door open and stepping inside.

Stealth Elf the saw as Avril, Eruptor and Pop Fizz followed Jet-Vac inside, slowly walking behind the senior Skylander.

Stealth Elf then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She then flung her eyes open and drew her daggers, spinning them in her hands before tightening her grip around them and going in after her friends.

As Stealth Elf entered the Main Hall, and joined her friends, she was faced with a single large open room. Ih here, the faint blue light that came from the Skylanders' Really Badges The darkness made it difficult to properly see any details, and the ones Stealth Elf did manage to see weren't very pleasant.

Strung up on the walls of the room were several tusks, skins skulls of large beasts, placed in such a way that made them seem like trophies. However, the light from the open door behind Stealth Elf and the faint glow of Jet-Vac's flashlight made the decorations look exceptionally macabre. All it took was the sight of what to Stealth Elf looked like a pile of cyclop skulls, to make the elven Skylander shiver and try sticking closer to her friends.

"There should be some braziers or something around here," Avril's voice echoed through the hall. "Oi, maybe that fancy vacuum cleaner of your can light them up?" Avril asked Jet-Vac.

"No, sorry," Jet-Vac replied. "I don't have a lighter in this old thing." He stated, shaking his vac gun slightly.

"Well, there don't seem to be any cyclops in here," Eruptor began. "Are you sure this is where we're supposed to be looking?"

"If they returned to the area," Avril began. "Then they must be in here somewhere." She stated. "Keep looking, there might be some sort of secret room or something." She suggested.

At that, the Skylanders kept moving through the dark hall, following Jet-Vac's light. After a few moments however, they reached the end of the hall. There, between two large metal braziers and elevated off the ground by a few stone steps, was what looked like a throne.

It was made of dark, grey carved stone and had the tusks and skulls of large beasts decorating it's sides. A thick, rather comfortable-looking rug of animal fur covered the seat and armrests of the throne, making it look worthy of some sort of barbarian king.

"Cool chair." Pop Fizz said as he made his way over to the stone throne. The blue gremlin then sat down on the grimm throne, leaning back into the oversized seat and getting comfortable.

"I guess that means there is no one here," Eruptor said, flinging his arms in the air. "Now we're going to have to go wander in the snow again!" He complained.

"This is really strange," Avril whispered. "They should have come back here. This is kind of like their home." She said, holding her chin in thought.

"Oh boy, this is kind of disappointing," Jet-Vac said in a down tone. "I was looking forward to putting those one-eyed villains behind bars." He admitted, lowering his arms.

Stealth Elf couldn't help but also feel disappointed. She really wanted to put a stop to the One-Eyed Legion, since they had been such a constant thorn on everyone's side. As she came to terms with the fact they were just going to have to try again, Stealth Elf lowered her had, looking down in disappointment.

But, as Stealth Elf lowered her gaze, something caught her eye. Because of Jet-Vac lowering his arms, his flashlight's glow was hitting the throne at a different angle, closer to its base. As she squinted her eyes and leaned in closer, Stealth Elf noticed that there was something unusual about the floor around the throne.

"Guys?" She called, stepping closer to the floor near the throne's right side.

"Yeah, Elf? What is it?" Jet-Vac asked, sounding slightly confused.

Stealth Elf kneeled down and with the light coming from Jet-Vac's flashlight, she was able to see several wavy, irregular horizontal lines, scratched onto the floor, stretching a few feet from the base of the throne's right side. As she traced her fingers over the cold stone, letting her feel the small gashes made by the scratches, Stealth Elf figured out something.

"We have to push this thing." She stated simply, standing on her feet.

"What?" Jet-Vac asked in a confused tone.

"Look here," Stealth Elf instructed, pointing at the scratch marks on the floor. "I think this thing slides to the side and leads down somewhere!"

"I think she's onto something!" Avril stated, brightening up suddenly. "C'mon everyone-" She picked up, rushing to the throne's left side, where she started grunting and pushing. "Let's do this!"

"Alright!" Stealth Elf agreed as she walked over to her friend and leaned into the throne, pressing her hands against its surface and pushing.

However, despite her and Avril struggling, the large stone structure didn't seem to budge. At this, Stealth Elf noticed how Jet-Vac and Eruptor quickly rushed over and also began pushing, groaning loudly from the strain.

"How heavy is this thing!?" Eruptor demanded in a strained voice.

"I wouldn't know," Pop Fizz voice suddenly answered. "But I can tell you how comfortable it is." He suggested, sounding relaxed.

The blue gremlin had remained sat down on the throne, comfy in his warm brown coat even after Stealth Elf and the rest had began struggling to move it. This caused everyone to angrily call the lazy Skylander's name in unison.

"Alright, alright, jeez!" Pop Fizz soothed, putting his arms up before getting on his feet and getting off the throne to help his friends.

After everyone put their backs into it, Stealth Elf felt the large stone throne shift. After a couple of final grunts of effort, the throne slid to the right, giving the skylanders time to let out relieved sighs and catch their breath.

As Stealth Elf put her hands on her knees and leaned forward, she looked down to where the throne previously was. There, she saw a square trapdoor, made of wood and iron. It had a rusty black handle and was wide enough for at least two of the Skylanders to descend at the same time.

"Well, I think we found that secret room I was talking about." Avril cheered, stretching out her hand to grab the black handle.

"Yeah, that we did." Jet-Vac said, shining the light from his vac gun over the trapdoor.

After a strong pull, Avril lifted the trapdoor open, revealing a gloomy, dusty stairway that descended into an unknown darkness beneath the Main Hall. Upon closer inspection however, Stealth Elf noticed a couple of things, vage details that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Vaguely printed on the dust of the ancient steps, were footprints. Someone had been here before them, and they were here recently.

"Someone is down there," Avril said in a severe tone.

"Well that's kind of why we're here, isn't it?" Eruptor asked. "Who wants to go in first?" He dared, taking a peek at the dark stairway.

"I'll go first." Jet-Vac stated, taking a step forward and looking down at the stairway and shining his flashlight down it's steps. After a short pause and a long exhale of breath, Jet-Vac straightened his posture and proceeded to take the first step down the stairway, and then the next and the next.

Without thinking twice, Stealth Elf went to follow her friend, taking the dusty steps down to meet him. She then heard as the rest of her companions followed after her, making her turn her head around, confirming they were all indeed following her.

They all moved slowly, keeping so quiet Stealth Elf could hear her blood in her ears. The light from Jet-Vac's flashlight was bright enough to let him traverse the dark stairway without much trouble, however, it left the path behind him in complete darkness. This made the glowing rim of the Relay Badges on Stealth Elf and the Skylander' chests, shine like bright rings of an electric blue hue. It also made it so that Stealth Elf missed a couple of cobwebs that got caught in her long ears, causing her to groan and brush them off her head violently.

However, after what felt like a whole minute, Stealth Elf heard something that compelled her to come to a sudden stop. "Everyone," Jet-Vac called in a hoarse whisper, suddenly coming to a stop in front o f Stealth Elf. "Hold on a second."

"What is it JV?" Stealth Elf asked in a low tone, weary of the senior Skylander's behaviour.

"There's a door to another room up ahead," Jet-Vac stated. "And there is light coming from the other side." He warned.

After hearing this, Stealth Elf couldn't help an urge to peek ahead of her friend. She stood on the tips of her toes and leaned a bit to her left, managing to get a look at what was in front of Jet-Vac. A couple of meters away from where she was standing, illuminated by Jet-Vac's flashlight, Stealth Elf saw the outline of an ancient-looking stone door.

Had it not been by the gloomy air that surrounded it, as well as the sheet of sust that laid over its surface, the door would have looked quite splendid. It was a large, double gate, which had bronze carvings of cyclop warriors, clad in thorned armor and wielding jagged axes. Their eyes were made up of large, green jews, that shimmered weakly under the light cast onto them by Jet-Vac.

However, after a few moments of contemplation, Stealth Elf drew her attention from the door's decoration, to more important details. Just as Jet-Vac had said, there was light coming from the other side, indicated by the thin lines of bright orange neon that leaked out of the door's outline.

"Alright everyone," Avril spoke up, making Stealth Elf turn around to face her. "Chances are there will be a great many cyclops through that door." She stated. "Are you all ready for a big brawl?" She asked, sounding more daring and bold rather than supportive.

"You bet we are!" Eruptor hissed, lifting one of his fists for Avril to bump.

"That's what I like to hear!" Avril whispered, bumping Eruptor's first energetically. "Alright!" She picked up turning her focus toward Stealth Elf and Jet-Vac, still speaking in a hushed tone. "Whenever you are ready friends!" She finished, giving Stealth Elf a thumbs up.

At that, Stealth Elf pulled up her bandana and drew her daggers, gave Avril a firm nod and turned over to Jet-Vac. "Let's go."

"Alright," Jet-Vac responded as he began walking over to the door, allowing Stealth Elf and the rest to follow. When Jet-Vac stood in front of the stone door, he switched his vac gun from flashlight, to his usual weapon configuration by twisting a red dial on the side of the tool's barril. After this, Jet-Vac turned his head back and gave Stealth Elf and the rest a serious look. "Everyone ready?" He asked, lifting his vac gun.

Jet-Vac then received a firm nod of confirmation from each of his companions, including Stealth Elf.

"Very well then," Jet-Vac began, cracking a smile. "Let's go!" He shouted, turning around and kicking the large stone doors open.

After this, Jet-Vac ran into the new room holding his weapon tightly. He was promptly followed inside by Avril, Pop Fizz and Eruptor, who were all letting out loud battle cries.

So, without a moment's hesitation, Stealth Elf followed her friend's example. After focusing briefly, Stealth Elf teleported, appearing in a flash of green mist beside her friends inside the new room, daggers out and in battle pose.

However, a few seconds passed and Stealth Elf noticed a couple of things. The first was, that her louder friends, had abruptly stopped their battle cries and were now in an awkward silence. The second thing she noticed was that, to her surprise, neither she, nor her friends were being attacked, by cyclops or otherwise.

"Uhhh, guys?" Pop Fizz began. "Where are the bad guys?" He asked, sounding genuinely confused.

Stealth Elf was wondering the same thing. As she relaxed her posture, she scanned the room they were in. Once she focused on her surroundings, Stealth Elf couldn't help but let out a small wow.

The room was a massive, cavernous opening, very roughly circular. The walls and ceiling were pristine bedrock, which made the room feel even more like an actual cavern. However, on the floor of the room, were two rows of large, dark metal braziers. The metallic bowls contained blazing orange flames, that showered the room with heat, and made the shadows on the walls dance around the Skylanders.

But despite all this, what called Stealth Elf's attention the most, was what lay at the edge of the huge room across from her and her friends.

It was the statue of a massive cyclop head, carved right out of the cavern's stone, roaring menacingly at the Skylanders. It's bulging, stone eye, which seemed to stare right through Stealth Elf, the jagged horns on the sides of its head, and the fact all of the statues fierce features were brought to life by the shifting orange light and shadows of the braziers beneath it, made Stealth Elf sweat a tiny drop of sweat and take a step back.

However, the most disturbing thing about the statue, was the fact that, out of its fanged mouth, a large purple crystal descended, making it seem like the stone cyclop was spewing the crystal out of its roaring mouth. The huge gem, shone and glimmered sinisterly, emanating a sinister air that made Stealth Elf feel goosebumps around it.

"Well, that's welcoming," Avril chuckled nervously behind Stealth Elf.

Stealth Elf had to agree, the stone structure, in this ambience was rather intimidating. She felt a sense of unease as the massive, stone-cold eye of the humongous statue loomed over her.

"Yeah, that's one big cyclop," Pop Fizz spoke up. "A lot bigger than that other one." He added.

At that, Stealth Elf snapped into focus, her ears shooting up. "What do you mean, _that other one_?" She asked, suddenly very on edge.

"I believe he's talking about me." A new voice answered, echoing through the large room.

At that, Stealth Elf instinctively tensed up and held her daggers tight. She heard her friends shift and get into battle pose around her. She heard Eruptor growl, Jet-Vac draw his vac gun and Avril shift her stance, all in reaction to the stranger's voice.

Stealth Elf focused, searching the room for the source of the stranger's voice. She quickly located her target when she spotted a figure, sitting down on the smooth floor, more than a couple of metres away.

The figure was facing toward the giant cyclop statue, turning their back to the Skylanders. The figure's silence and stillness, coupled with the much more eye-catching giant statue, had made Stealth Elf miss it completely when she first scanned the room.

However, now that she was focused on it, she managed to get a couple of details. The figure was wearing a long, red and gold, hooded cloak. She also noticed that it was wearing a dark brown belt, from which two, large magnifying glasses hung down.

"Heya, Skyguys," The figure spoke again. "How's it been?" He asked in a honeyed voice.

After Stealth Elf heard the figure speak once again, all the information she had just gathered clicked into place in her mind. "Muno," She called, remembering the green-skinned cyclop's name. "What are you doing here?" She demanded, keeping her daggers and her guard up.

"I mean," Muno began, still looking away from the Skylanders. "This _is our_ home. I should be the one asking you what you're doing here." He retorted calmly.

"We're here to apprehend you," Jet-Vac spoke up. "We're here to stop you _and_ put an end to the One-Eyed Legion!" He declared heroically.

At that, there was silence. Muno took a moment to respond, followed by another. The cyclop's science struck Stealth Elf as quite suspicious. She narrowed her eyes and kept focused on Muno, ready to react should he try anything.

But, what happened next, made Stealth Elf furrowed her brow in confusion. Muno let out a laugh. His dry, mirthless chuckle echoed through the cavern, lasting more than a moment.

After he composed himself from his outburst of laughter, Muno spoke up. "The One-Eye Legion is done, my friend," He stated dryly. "You got us!" He added in a mocking tone while her shook his hands in fake celebration.

Stealth Elf was taken back by this, she shook her head and tried processing the word Muno had just said. "The One-Eyed Legion is-"

"Done!" Muno cut her off loudly. "Over, finished, terminated," He said bitterly. "It's a funny story actually, because see, _I_ was supposed to keep us all together." He said, pointing at himself with his thumb. "But, as you would know, not just anybody can just boss the One-Eyed Legion around. The Legion needs a leader!" Muno stated in a strangled voice. "Someone who is strong, who is brave, who knows how to speak to the hearts of the people! Someone who commands respect!" He shouted desperately, slamming one of his fists on the rock floor beside him.

The impact made Stealth Elf get back on guard, weary of the cyclop in front of her. However, Muno was hunched over, still facing away from the Skylanders. His arms were slouched over and he seemed tired.

"And apparently," Muno picked up, speaking in a sad, low tone. "I'm none of those things. No one wanted to follow me after Unulus was captured. They all went their separate ways, giving up." He said with a low sigh. "I think a couple of them wanted to become painters or something… not that it matters much, I guess." He finished somberly.

Stealth Elf was speechless. She slowly lowered her arms, and slightly softened her expression. She had truly not expected the One-Eyed LEgion to disband so easily. She didn't know how to feel. She wanted the Legion gone, she just never imagined it would be gone this way. It didn't exactly feel, satisfying, much less heroic.

"But then why did you come here?" Avril asked suddenly. "We saw you lot gather and head back here. If no one stuck arrond, why did you? You must have known we'd come and check this place." She interrogated.

"Yeah, you know?" Muno started up. "About all that, I'm actually a bit happy you are all here." He said, suddenly speaking with a smidge of resolve, which made Stealth Elf narrow her eyes suspiciously.

"Why is that?" Jet-Vac asked carefully.

"You see," Muno began in a narrator-like tone. "A cyclop usually becomes a chieftain, by earning the people's respect," He explained. "This usually happens through great deeds, like, say, slaying a Fire Viper, or ten gear golems, or inventing icicle cannons," He listed.

"Then, to consolidate the right of leadership," Muno continued, lifting his head to look at the large purple crystal coming out of the cyclop statue's mouth. "The new chieftain is bestowed with a bit of Polyphemus' Blood." He said, pointing up at the cyclop statue. "It was said, that with the power of the fist cyclop, the chieftains would become strong enough to protect their people, for a great purpose had been given to them."

Stealth Elf looked up at the statue, focusing on the sinister purple crystal. She was surprised by how little she knew about cyclops or their culture. Then, her eyes went wide with realisation as a though shaped itself in her head while she remembered previous information and pieced it together with what she had just learned.

"So, Enumat and Unulus," Stealth Elf spoke the two chieftains' names as diferent thoughts came into her mind. "They had this, Blood of Polyphemus thing, right? That's why they were so much stronger that the other cyclops, and why the looked… like that?" She wondered.

"You're very correct," Muno confirmed. "They earned their position as leaders, which is part of the reason I could never be their leader." He added in a down tone. "Which is why I was actually hoping to bring you guys here!" He stated, in a voice that sounded like he was forcing himself to cheer up.

"Why did you bring us here?" Jet-Vac asked, sounding concerned as he steadily aimed his vac gun at Muno.

"Well, as I was saying," Muno picked up. "Chieftains usually get the Blood of Polyphemus _after,_ doing a great deed," He repeated. "But, you know-" He continued, standing up suddenly and making the Skylanders flinch. "-I think, we can afford to do things a _tiny_ bit out of order this time." He said maliciously as he turned around and finally faced the Skylanders.

Muno was holding a roughly twelve-inch long purple crystal in one hand. The shimmering rock was sharp and pointy, not to mention pulsing unsettlingly. The pattern at which the purple crystal glowed bright and darkened up seemed to be emulating a heartbeat, almost as if the crystal itself was alive.

"What I was thinking," Muno picked up suddenly. "Is, I use this-" He said, lifting the purple crystal to eye level and shaking it slowly. "-Kill you all-" He added, pointing at Avril and the Skylanders with his free hand. "-And then parade your heads through the Skylands. That ought to count for a _great deed_ right?" He asked derisively, shrugging exaggeratedly.

"Muno," Stealth Elf called, drawing the cyclop's attention to her. "You don't have to do this." She said, trying to sound calm. However, the fact she was getting back into battle pose and holding her daggers so tight her fingers hurt, might have dampered the effect.

Muno just stared at her in silence, unmoving. Then, he spoke in a weak, tired voice. "Yeah I do," He replied. "He trusted me to do it." He said simply.

Then, Stealth Elf saw as Muno quickly grab the crystal with both hands, raise it over his head and close his eye tightly shut, as if he was bracing himself for something. Then, before anyone could react, the cyclop swung down the sharp rock, burying it through his chest. This made a gross, wet sound echo through the room, followed by a breathless gasp from Muno.

Stealth Elf let out an astounded gasp when she saw, Muno crumble down to his knees, still clutching the crystal tightly. She saw the cyclop's bulging eye wide and dilated.

Stealth Elf was about to reach over to try and help, but something made her reconsider. Muno was catching fire.

An unnatural, dark purple flame was spreading through the cyclop's body, originating from where he had stabbed himself with the crystal. As the purple flames passed through his body, they caused him to bend back and squirm violently as he let out a horrible howl of agony, which echoed through the room, resonating horribly and making Stealth Elf and her companions cover their ears in discomfort.

The sigh of Muno screaming and frantically trying to extinguish the flames that were engulfing him, was as horrible as any Stealth Elf had seen. She shut her eyes closed and cover her ears, pressing them tightly against her head, desperately trying to keep Muno's suffering out of her head.

Moment after moment passed, and then, just when Stealth Elf was about to have enough, the screaming stoped. Abruptly and without warning, Muno's cries of pain were no longer heard through the cavern.

So, slowly, Stealth Elf let go of her ears and opened her eyes. She then quickly turned around to see her friends, making sure they were fine. They were unharmed, but all had disturbed, wide-eyed expressions, and were all looking at a fixed point behind Stealth Elf, slowly getting into battle positions.

At that, Stealth Elf's face lit up. She then turned around quickly, holding her daggers tight and keeping her eyes open.

When she did this, Stealth Elf had to resist an urge to gasp again. Because standing a few meters away, was a very diferent cyclop than she remembered.

This cyclop was burlier a full head taller than Muno, who was already taller than Jet-Vac. He was also wearing a deep, jet-black cloak with golden lining and the fabric of which, had patches of faint, smoldering purple glow. This cyclop was hunched over with his head hanging low, covered by his cloak hood while his arms were hanging slack by his sides. The skin on his hands was pale purple, and the tips of their fingers were long, sharp crystals, slightly hooked into claws.

There was also a long, pointy crystal, which pulsed with sinister light at the rhythm of a heartbeat coming out of his chest, on the same exact spot where Muno had stabbed himself.

Stealth Elf noticed there were small, pointy crystals poking through the dark fabric of the cyclops cloak through a straight line on his back and on his shoulders. They were all about an inch long, and looked exceptionally sharp.

However, it was when the cyclop lifted his head, that Stealth Elf unconsciously took a step back, adopting a more defensive position as a drop of cold sweat trailed down her temple.

The cyclop's face was a pale, unnatural purple tone, contrasting with the solid, dark pink of his eye. The vertical slit, white and vivrant was dilated with ecstasy. The cyclop then took in a breath of air, holding it for a minute and letting it out in a long, calm exhale, which made Stealth Elf focus on the creature's mouth, which was lined with small, jagged, crystalline teeth.

"Wow…" The cyclop began, speaking in a familiar, yet disturbingly distinct voice. "That was a rush." Muno said, smiling malevolently.

Then, Stealth Elf saw as Muno clenched his fists, lifted his arms and tensed them up at his sides. He then lowered his head for a second, only to lift it and let out a roar of newly flowing might, which was followed by an intense purple glow to focus on his eye.

"Look out!" Avril shouted at the top of her lungs.

The only warning for what followed was the fire on the large braziers through the room becoming dark purple, just like the flames that had covered Munoa few moments ago. Then, a flash of crackling purple light, accompanied by a sound like an electric explosion filled the cavern, blasting Stealth Elf backwards and spreading a sensation of faint, yet lasting, electrifying pain through her body.

When she felt herself hit the ground again, Stealth Elf's first instinct, was to look for her friends. As she quickly turned her head to her sides, she found her friends laying beside her, struggling to get back up.

"Everyone!" Stealth Elf called, getting on her feet, grunting and wincing from the pain that pulsed through her body. "Come on! We need to leave!" She said, keeping her eyes on Muno, who now a greater distance away, was slowly walking toward her and her fallen friends.

"Yeah, I agree with Elfy," Eruptor groaned, still on the floor. "Let's get out of here." He said, tapping his Relay Badge twice in quick succession, the motion that would bring him back to the Academy safe and sound.

However, there was no flash of light and Eruptor stayed right on his place. This caused the Skylander to get up and look at his badge in confusion. "Huh? What's wrong?" He asked, before tapping the device again.

When this didn't work, Eruptor began to franticly tapp the badge, to the point where he was pounding his fist against his chest. But even then, nothing happened and a sensation of dread began spreading through Stealth Elf's body.

She then noticed something. The badge on Eruptor's chest, did not have a glowing blue rim. The ring on the coppery device's edge was black, indicating it had stopped functioning.

Stealth Elf then slowly lowered her gaze to her chest, to her own Relay Badge. She then felt her heart stop for a second, because her badge to, was dark.

"That fiend's attack must have damaged out badges!" Jet-Vac stated in a panicked voice.

"Well we can still walk out of here, right?" Pop Fizz asked calmly, turning around to where the entrance to the room was. "The door is right the-" He stopped abruptly, worrying Stealth Elf.

When Stealth Elf turned around, she felt her dread take a sudden growth spurt. The heavy stone doors at the end of the room, were shut close, preventing them from leaving.

At that, Stealth Elf turned her head back around. She saw Muno, slowly grab the two oversized magnifying glasses on his belt and lift them up to eye level. Once there, The cyclop held them in place as his eye began glowing intensely once again, alerting Stealth Elf of what was about to happen.

"Everyone, run!" She cried, as she began sprintin to her right.

Stealth Elf only had a moment to look behind her to see Avril, Jet-Vac and Pop Fizz start to run, scattering through the room. However, Eruptor was too slow. The magma elemental looked to his right and began running in that direction, then he seemed to reconsider and turn around, heading left, only to stop once again and turn back around.

"Eruptor!" Stealth Elf called desperately.

When he heard Stealth Elf's call, Eruptor came to a sudden stop and turned his head to face her. That's when Stealth Elf saw a focused beam of bright, static purple energy fire from Muno's eye and shoot through the room.

The cyclop aimed his attack in such a way, that once fired, all he had to do was lift his head slightly to make the purple beam vertically slice through Eruptor's body, leaving a traced line of smoking purple burns through the Skylander.

Stealth ELf felt her stomach drop when she saw Eruptor split in two halves, each one falling over to their corresponding side.

Stealth Elf was about to cry out her friends name, when something strange happened. "Guys, for the last time!" Eruptor's voice shouted. " _Regeneration powers_! Worry about that guy, not me!" He shouted.

"Oh right," Stealth Elf sighed, suddenly no longer feeling very alarmed about her friend. Instead, Stealth Elf focused on Muno.

Stealth Elf then saw Muno turn around and take aim at another one of her friends, one without regeneration powers. She saw Muno take aim for Jet-Vac.

Stealth Elf then took a deep breath, focusing. She then activated her power. She teleported through the room, right beside Muno. Once there, she did a small hop due to the cyclop's newly increased height and then shifted her body and stretched out her leg, giving Muno a powerful kick on the side of the head, which caused him to stumble to his side.

As she was falling down, Stealth Elf teleported away, standing ready for Muno's counterattack.

The cyclop responded to this by turning around and aiming at Stealth Elf, holding booth magnifying glasses steadily. However, before Stealth Elf could do anything to avoid Muno's attack, the cyclop found himself unable to launch it to begin with.

Stealth Elf saw no other than Avril, jump up behind Muno and take a hold of his head. The frost elf groaned and grunted as she tried to cling on, arms and legs onto Muno's head, despite the cyclop being almost twice her height.

"Get off of me!" Muno ordered angrily as he began bashing Avril's head with the end of the handles of his magnifying glasses.

Avril let out pained hiss and shut her eyes in strain when Muno's blows landed on her blue iron helmet. When each hit landed, Stealth Elf noticed a deep dent appeared on Avril's helmet, indicating the massive strength behind each attack.

"Stealth Elf!" Avril shouted, snapping Stealth Elf back into focus. "Hit him!" She called.

"Oh no you don't!" Muno declared spoke over Avril.

The cyclop then straightened his back, did a small hop and allowed himself to fall, backwards. He landed in a loud thud, crushing Avril under his weight. The frost ef let out a loud, drained groan and seemed to loosen her grip on Muno, because when the cyclop stood back up Avril did not hold on.

Now on his feet, Muno placed his magnifying glasses in front of his eye and tilted them both strangely, making Stealth Elf think he was planning something, causing her to get on a defensive stance.

"Hey!" Someone shouted behind Muno. "You ain't done with me, pal!"

At that, Muno lower his tools and turned around, focused on someone Stealth Elf couldn't see. However, Stealth Elf saw who Muno was focused on soon enough. After all, he was holding up a whole, still flaming brazier.

Eruptor had lifted one of the large bronze bowls that made up the braziers in the room. Stealth Elf knew Eruptor could lift boulders from time to time with relative ease, but she couldn't help but feel a bit surprised by this. He looked like he was about to blow up though, his face was strained and his arms and legs were shaking under the weight of the brazier. However, he was focused on Muno, who looked at Eruptor nervously.

"Take..:" Eruptor groaned. "This!" He shouted, roaring from the strain as he tossed the bronze brazier up in the air, directly at Muno.

Muno let out a frightened yelp, apparently as surprised as Stealth Elf at Eruptor's feat of strength. But, not losing all his cool, the cyclop grabbed his two magnifying glasses and after a brief wound up, he fired a beam of purple energy at the bronze brazier. As he fired his beam, Muno slowly tilted one of his tools, adjusting its angle as the brazier above him fell. As Muno did this, the beam changed angles as well, effectively having it's trajectory altered to slice through the whole brazier vertically. This caused the bronze bowl to split in half, each half then landing beside Muno rather than on top of him with loud, metallic crashes and only covering Muno in small embers and cinders.

"Hah!" Muno mocked proudly, unharmed.

But, before Stealth Elf could sweep in and wipe the arrogant smile off Muno's face, she saw Eruptor run up to Muno at full speed and ram a flaming fist into the cyclop's stomach, causing him to let out breathless gasp and be knocked back several feet.

"That'll teach you!" Eruptor laughed, doing a strange motion with his lumpy hands that resembled someone cracking their knuckles.

"Teach me what?" Muno asked, getting Eruptor and Stealth Elf to focus. "How lame you are? That barely hurt!" He stated mockingly.

"That was just the warm up," Eruptor stated. "You're in for it now! Right Elf!?" He called, looking over to Stealth Elf with an energetic smile.

"That's right!" Stealth Elf replied boldy. "Let's take this guy!" She said, turning over to Muno and holding her daggers tight.

"Alright then!" Muno snapped. "Come on, show me what you got!" He goaded.

"If you insist!" Eruptor responded as he began firing a volley of firebolts at Muno.

To counter this, Muno kick up one of the split halves of the bronze brazier, holding it up as a shield and hiding behind it. As Eruptor's firebolts collided against the metal surface, they created loud gong-like sounds that echoed through the cavern.

Stealth Elf was about to teleport behind Muno to catch the cyclop b surprise, but she then saw a beam of purple energy burst through the bronze brazier, slicing through it as it traveled sideways. Moving at about waist height for Stealth Elf, the beam moved faster than Eruptor could react, slicing through his body, horizontally this time.

"Aw come on!" Eruptor complained as his two halves slid apart and fell to the ground.

Stealth Elf however was still in danger. She quickly teleported through the room in a burst of green mist, avoiding Muno's beam. When she rematerialized, Stealth Elf was behind Muno, who was holding his magnifying glasses in a funny way as he kept firing his beam through the bronze brazier. Stealth Elf didn't waste time though. She quickly jumped up, spun in the air, and gave Muno a powerful kick straight in the back.

The impact made the cyclop crashed against the heavily damaged half of the bronze bowl he was hiding behind. When this happened, the metal object broke in half and Muno stumbled through it. Then, groaning, Muno began to get back on his feet.

"You shouldn't gang up on people." He growled at Stealth Elf.

"It's called teamwork, jerk." Stealth Elf retorted, getting into a defensive posture, awaiting Muno's next move.

She then saw Muno lift his magnifying glasses in front of his eye, holding them in awkward positions. She noticed he tilted the tools and shifted their position. Why he did this was beyond her, and she didn't have time to dwell on it. She was sure the cyclop was about to fire his lazer beam at her, something she really didn't want to get hit by.

However, tilted one of his tools strangely. When he did, Muno just smiled, a thin, wicked smile. "I. See. You." He hissed maliciously.

Stealth Elf raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. Had Muno forgotten she was right in front of him? But then, Muno's eye began glowing brightly, indicating he was about to fire.

Stealth Elf was more than ready to react to Muno's attack, staying calm and keeping her eyes on the cyclop. However, when Muno's lazer fired, it didn't hit Stealth Elf, because to her surprise, it wasn't aimed at her. The beam of purple energy bounced off the crystalline surface of Muno's second magnifying glass, abruptly changing directions.

When Stealth Elf turned her head to see where the beam had been redirected to, her face went pale. She had reacted just in time to see Muno's attack land against Pop Fizz's arm, burnig through the sleeve of his brown coat and hitting his flesh. The blue gremlin was sneaking behind Muno, holding in one arm a slim vial of a pink potion. She recalled the potion to be a kind of knockout gas, something that would have been quite useful in this situation.

However, more so than the potion, Stealth Elf was concerned about Pop Fizz himself. The blue Skylander fell to the ground after being struck by Muno. He stayed motionless and with his eyes closed, smoke lines emanating from his arm, which was now covered in black burns, still clutching the knockout potion tightly.

"Pop Fizz!" Stealth Elf heard Jet-Vac cry. "Don't you hurt him!" He shouted at Muno.

Stealth Elf then saw Jet-Vac release a volley of pressurised wind blasts at Muno. The cyclop however, began dashing to his left, moving out of the way of the incoming projectiles. Stealth Elf noticed than Muno wasn't just dodging Jet-Vac's attacks, he was circling around him, quickly closing the gap between them. Stealth Elf then saw Muno alter his trajectory, no longer circling around Jet-Vac, but rather charging straight at him. When this happened, Jet-Vac hurriedly began pressing buttons on his vac gun, no doubt to change its current function. But Stealth Elf knew he wouldn't have enough time. She saw Muno leap up in the air, clutching his magnifying glasses tightly, about to swing them down on Jet-Vac.

That's when Stealth Elf closed her eyes shut. _"Be the ninja."_ She thought to herself, focusing her thoughts. _"Be the ninja!"_ She repeated, more determinedly, griping her daggers tightly and steading herself. "Be the ninja!" She said out loud, opening her eyes as a feeling of focus settled over her.

She saw the world move slowly around her. She saw the fire blazing on the braziers shift and dance with the shadows of the room and, more importantly, she saw Muno, still in the air, about to put some serious hurt on Jet-Vac.

Without wasting time, Stealth Elf rushed over to the scene. Once there, She grabbed Jet-Vac by the arm and tugged him away from Muno's reach. She then returned to face the cyclop, taking a moment to look at the frenzied expression on his face before tensing up one of her legs, getting ready to give the cyclop a powerful kick.

However, something stopped her, something Avril had told her before they had come here. "Break the magnifying glasses," Stealth Elf repeated her friends tip on handling these kind of cyclop. "Right!" She said with a smirk as she quickly walked behind Muno. Once there, Stealth Elf grabed the two magnifying glasses and, with some effort, janked them out of the cyclop's grip.

Afterwards, Stealth Elf took a couple of steps back. Satisfied with her work and weary of the sensation of nausea using her power for this long was causing her, she let out a zen sigh and relaxed her body. And just like that, the world began moving at normal speed once again.

This included Muno, who had just pounced at and swung down on thin air, with empty hands. Stealth Elf could feel herself smirk as she saw Muno quickly glance between his open, empty palms, then at both sides of his belt and under his black robe, a very confused look on his face as he did.

"Wh-What!?" Muno howled, sounding as confused as he looked. "What is this? Where are my things!?" He demanded.

At that, Stealth Elf whistled sharply, causing the cyclop to suddenly stop doing what he was doing and hold his position for a second. Then, very slowly, Muno turned around, to face Stealth Elf. His face was contorted and his cyclopting brow was knit, expressing a strange mix of confusion and anger. He looked like he wanted to say something to Stealth Elf, since he opened his mouth and began raising an arm at her.

She wasn't aiming to strike up conversation though. Without giving him a chance to react, Stealth Elf swung one of Muno's magnifying glasses at his head with all the might she could muster. When the impact landed, the crystalline tool shattered against Muno's face and caused the cyclop to stumble and shift toward his left. Then, Stealth Elf swung Muno's second tool, smashing it against his head and causing the cyclop to stumble to his left.

Then, when Muno was shifting and struggling to keep himself on his feet, Stealth Elf tensed up her legs and one of her arms. Then she released this tension, leaping up in the air and giving Muno a powerful uppercut so powerful, the cyclop crumbled and fell to the ground back down, tongue out and eye closed, like a knocked out cartoon.

Stealth Elf was breathing hard and felt drained. She sat down on the stone floor, keeping a watchful eye on Muno while she caught her breath. "Guys?" She called, looking around. "Guys!?" She called again after hearing no response.

"We're here!" Jet-Vac responded, rushing over to Stealth Elf. "Are you alright?" He asked in concern.

"Of course she is!" Eruptor's voice cma from behind Stealth Elf. "She kicked that one-eyed punk's butt!"

"That she did," Another voice spoke up, causing Stealth Elf to turn to her right and see its source. "She's a tough one," Avril said with a smile as she removed her battered helmet and tossed it to the side, revealing her short, bangs of deep blue hair. "But… your friend," She added, darkening up. "He looks pretty bad."

At that, Stealth ELf remembered. "Pop Fizz," She uttered her friend's name. "He got hit by Muno! He needs help!" She said, springing onto her feet and looking over the battle torn room for her friend.

She saw him laying down, on the same spot he had been knocked down by Muno.

"We need to take him back to Winter Keep," Avril stated. "We have very good healers there who can help your friend." She explained as she walked over to Pop Fizz and took a closer look a the damage.

"But guys," Eruptor spoke up. "After all that, how are we gonna get to the the Academy?" He asked in a worried tone.

"What do you mean, lad?" Jet-Vac asked.

"Well, our Relay Badges don't work," Eruptor began, tapping his chest, which had no badge on it. After Eruptor noticed this, he let out a loud groan. "Augh, that jerk must destroyed mine!" He complained, making Stealth Elf recall how Muno had sliced Eruptor into halves a couple of times. "Anyway, as I was saying, we don't have our badges and last time we got here with Flynn's help." He recalled. "And since he's not here either, we've got no way home!"

Stealth Elf though in silence. "Avril?" She called. "You don't have anything to get us home?" She asked.

"Nothing to get you through the distance between here and your home," Avril stated in a down tone. "Sorry, sis." She apologised

At that, Stealth Elf felt like a huge weight had been dropped on top of her. She let out a sharp exhale as she realized...

They were stranded.

* * *

The Outlands were a desolate place, devoid of any ecosystem well-rooted enough to sustain life. Whatever monstrously adaptive creatures managed to survive were wiped out by some sort of massive volcanic winter or a black lightning hurricane.

Well, all except two apparently. Walking steadily, two cloaked figures made their way through the Outland's barren isles. One of them was tall and walked with poise. This figure was walking in front of the other and was looking at an old, worn map, guiding the duo through the Outlands. The other figure was considerably smaller and walked with a severely hunched back, it picked up and dropped several diferent rocks it found half-buried in the ash, letting out displeased sighs whenever they failed to meet some standard the figure seemed to have made up.

"Are you sure you're reading that thing right?" The smaller figure asked it's companion in a grating, creaky voice. " _Ich bin am_ _verhungern._ " The smaller figure added in a lower voice, speaking a diferent language.

" _Ne t'inquiète pas, mon ami,_ " The larger figure spoke in a modulated, composed tone, staying focused on the old, torn map it was carrying. "I am certain we are almost…" The figure paused, coming to a sudden stop. "There…"

"What's wrong?" The smaller figure asked, focused on it's companion.

" _Cela ... a l'air ... différent…_ " The larger figure said in an entranced maner, focused entirely elsewhere.

This caused the smaller figure to look forward. When it did this, ot saw what its companion was seeing, and let out an astonished gasp. " _Ahhh, wie gut ist es, wieder grün zu sehen._ " It sighed.

"Yes... indeed..." The larger figure agreed as the duo contemplated the sigh of the Skylands, silently admiring the golden light of the sun, showering over the vivran green grass covering its floating isles as they stood against the pristine blue sky dotted with graceful puffs of stark white clouds.

"Too bad we won't be able to enjoy it much." The smaller figure croaked.

"Yes, it is a shame," The larger figure agreed with a disappointed sigh. "But… we do have a job to do." It said, composing itself.

"Yeah, you're right… as usual, _mein freund_." The smaller figure replied, staying focused on the Skylands. "Alright then… let's get this show on the road." The figure said maliciously.

* * *

 _Author's notes_

 _Hello guys, here's the next chapter as promised. A bit late once again, but hey, when I say theres gonna be more, there's gonna be more. So, be patient because there are definitely more chapters incoming!_

\- Our heroes, stranded!?

\- Something stirs in the Outlands...


	9. Chapter 9

**Skylanders Academy: Song of the Hunt**

by andresponceb2002

 **Chapter 9) Men of Culture**

The sky was a clear blue, and a soft, cool breeze blew through the air. Birds chirped in the distance and the leaves of nearby trees rustled soothingly. The light of the sun bathed the Academy grounds in a beautiful glow.

However, something was out of place in this serene scene. A purple dragon, flying hurriedly through the air with a troubled expression on his tired face. As Cyrus flew overhead the floating isles that dotted the further reaches of Skylander Academy grounds, he panned his head from side to side, keeping an eye out for something, or, more accurately, for some _one._

The indigo dragon then came to a stop, using his wings to hold himself stationary in the air. He had reached the end of the Academy grounds, and even here, he found nothing. Frustrated, he gave out a groan as he slowly looked around the area.

"Where did you go?" Cyrus asked the wind, his voice heavy with regret.

After receiving no answer, and after searching to no avail, Cyrus lowered his head, staring down at the green isle beneath him. He then closed his eyes and let out a low sigh. He was about to turn around and head back to the main grounds when he felt something strange.

He felt a single drop of rain fall right on the tip of his snout. It made him blink and shake his head slightly. Then, slowly, he lifted his head and looked up above him.

Hovering peacefully a few meters over him, was a peculiar cloud. While all the clouds around the area Cyrus was in, were cotton white, this particular one was a stormy gray color and was dripping rain droplets.

Intrigued, Cyrus flew upwards, to level with the strange cloud. Once he rose up high enough to look down at the top of the cloud, his eyes went round for a moment. For sitting down on the clouds surface, as if it were a couch of some kind, and turning her back to Cyrus, was a cyan dragoness, staying quiet and gazing out at the distance. Cyrus noticed that her head was hanging a bit low, and her wings were drooping at her sides.

Cyrus looked at her silently for a moment. It took him a second, but he remembered the dragoness' name. The next thing he had to do was speak to her, it was after all, what he'd come this distance to do. However, something made his throat tighten. For some reason, he found speaking to the dragoness more difficult than he had foreseen.

But, mustering his drive and remembering what he was here for, Cyrus managed to speak up. "Whirlwind?" He called, as innocently as he could.

At that, the cyan dragoness tensed up suddenly and turned around, a wide-eyed, alerted look on her face. She quickly focused on Cyrus, and for a second, her expression changed. Her long ears shot up and her eyes dilated as he took a step back from Cyrus.

This concerned the indigo dragon, inciting him to speak further. "I'm not going to hurt you," He said, raising his paws to the sides of his chest. "I just wanted to talk." He explained calmly.

At that, Whirlwind's expresion changed again, slowly reverting to a narrow eyed, reserved glare. "Why would I want to talk to you?" She asked, suspiciously.

Cyrus pursed his lips. _"This is going to be difficult."_ He thought to himself. "I just noticed that you took off on a rather down note," He said, recaling how she had left the arena with her head low. "So I was just wondering," He began trying to sound innocent. "If you were alright." He said, forcing out a smile.

Whirlwind looked at him with an almost offended expression. Her eyes dilated again and her ears pressed against her head. "Why would you care about if I'm alright!?" She demanded. "You didn't seem very worried about my well-being when you abducted me!" She snapped, taking an angry step toward Cyrus.

Cyrus tried coming up with an answer. "I mean," He started up. "I just didn't understand what you did to make them shun you," He stated honestly, recalling the way Whirlwind had been left behind back in the arena. "Did you do or say something to them?" He wondered, curious, not having noticed any act of disrespect.

At that, Whirlwind's expresion changed again. Her ears rose a little, her gaze softened and her mouth opened slightly. She then slowly began lowering her head. "Y-You too?" She muttered, suddenly using one of her wings to cover her forehead as she averted her gaze.

After this, Cyrus tilted his head to the side and gave Whirlwind a confused look. _"You too?"_ He pondered, his curiosity rising as steadily as his confusion. "So, uh…" Cyrus tried picking up. " _Are_ you alright?" He asked awkwardly, not certain he had received an answer yet.

When Cyrus asked this, Whirlwind slowly composed herself, still looking away from Cyrus. "Why do you care?" She asked in a low tone. "You kidnapped me- kidnapped all of us-" She said, recalling Cyrus' deeds. "And you gave us to that, _creature_ ," She said the word loathingly, making it very clear to Cyrus who she was talking about. "So why? Why would _you_ , of all people care about me?" She demanded.

At that, Cyrus was at a dangerous loss for words. He started feeling a strange sensation on his shoulders and on his back, like a sort of weight. He came to the conclusion that his approach so far wasn't getting him anywhere.

And so, after a brief pause and starting up with a deep breath, Cyrus tried risking it. "Whirlwind," He called, keeping his eyes on her. "Do you remember the day I… came for you?" He asked solemnly.

Whirlwind then looked shocked. She recoiled at Cyrus' words and remained in silence, cueing Cyrus to continue. "You were crying when I found you," He said quietly, looking down. "Sobbing quietly, almost as if you didn't want anyone to hear you." He recalled, the image of the cyan dragoness he'd found that day, flashing back into his memory. "Something told me, that wasn't the first time it had happened, was it?" He asked, lifting his gaze back at Whirlwind. "Whirlwind," Cyrus called again. "Was your life really any better back then?" He asked, honestly.

After that, Whirlwind and Cyrus stayed in silence for a moment. The only sound that filled the air, was the breze, sweeping against the grass and leaves of trees as both dragons stared at each other.

However, after a while, Cyrus noticed something. He saw as Whirlwind's brow started to furrow, her lower lip trembling as her eyes became watery. "At least it was _my_ life." She glowered, giving Cyrus an emotional glare.

Cyrus suddenly felt his left eye twitch, a familiar, uncomfortable itch erupting suddenly on his forehead. By second nature, Cyrus took one of his paws and placed it over the red "A" above his left eye and started scratching it slowly. He felt strange. He wasn't bleeding, or even being attacked, but for some reason, he felt pain. It confused him, scared him, and made him back away from Whirlwind.

After a couple of moments of heavy breaths and silent scratching, Cyrus was about to raise his head back again, but when he did and laid eyes on the cloud in front of him, he noticed two things. The first, was that the cloud had turned into a natural, plain white. The second thing he saw, was Whirlwind gone. That snapped Cyrus back into focus, causing him to hurriedly leave his mark alone and turn his head around, searching for the dragoness he was speaking to a few moments ago.

When he turned around, Cyrus slowed down, his eyes drooping slightly. He saw Whirlwind, flying away already several meters away, not looking back.

Then, Cyrus let out a low sigh, and let the weight that had built up on his shoulders lower him through the air, back onto the isle beneath him. There he slumped over on his rump, sitting on the ground and looking down at his paws. They were shaking, subtly, almost unnoticeably, but shaking nonetheless. And for the life of him, he couldn't get them to stop shaking.

"You're despicable." A stranger's voice spat, coming from behind Cyrus.

This caused Cyrus to quickly get on his feet and turn around, a serious glare on his eyes. Who he saw behind him made him quickly loosen up, not out of comfort, but out of guilt.

Standing a few meters away, was a red, feathered dragon, looking disapprovingly at Cyrus. "Sunburn, was it?" Cyrus asked in a tired tone. "What brings you over here?" He tried asking.

"I came here to think about you," Sunburn responded in a serious tone.

Before Cyrus could stop himself, he found himself speaking. "Aww, how sweet of you," Cyrus replied sarcastically, immediately regretting his nasty reflex.

That response seemed to anger Sunburn, because not only did the bird-like dragon let out a low growl, the temperature around him seemed to rise around him, like a projection of his mood.

"Listen here," Sunburn scolded, causing Cyrus to obey and lower his head a little. "I know you're Spyro's brother, and I know you helped the Skylanders out," He said. "And as much as I respect Spyro, and admire the Skylanders," He continued, calming himself slightly. "It doesn't change the fact you helped that monster capture all of us. You were his faithful little helper and you just being sorry is not going to change that fact."

"I know that," Cyrus interjected, cutting Sunburn off and looking down at the grass beneath his paws. "I know what I've done so far does not amend what I have done in the past." He admitted, clenching his fists. "But… I just…" Cyrus stammered, pausing again. He said the words to himself, closing his eyes shut, not daring to say anything out loud. He wished for things he couldn't have, things he hadn't earned, so, he said nothing, not wanting to upset Sunburn further.

Sunburn had remained silent for a while now. Cyrus found it peculiar, considering how angry the feathered dragon was a moment ago. But, soon enough, the silence was broken.

"I need more time to think," Sunburn stated plainly. "I stand by what I've said. You wounded too many people and did too many wrongs for me to deem you worthy of forgiveness, but…" He paused, causing Cyrus to open his eyes and look at him.

Sunburn was looking to his side, away fro Cyrus. He had an expression of deep though in his face as he let out a long sigh. "I need more time to think." Sunburn repeated. "Do not follow me." He ordered, still not looking at Cyrus. Then, using his wings, Sunburn rose high above Cyrus and proceeded to fly away, back to the Academy.

And with that, Cyrus was left alone. Alone in the little green isle on the edge of the Academy.

Cyrus looked down at himself. He was shaking, still shaking. A terrible itch continued ringing beneath the skin over his left eye. Closing his eyes slowly, Cyrus couldn't stop himself from taking a tremoring paw over to the brand over his eye. There, he pressed it against his scales and began tracing his claws over his forehead, scratching the itch away.

Cyrus felt a strange sensation. He was certain he hadn't been wounded, and yet, he felt a aching pain in his chest, and a great weight on his body. He stat on his hind legs and placed his free paw over his chest, clenching his paw.

"Why?" Cyrus asked in a brittle voice. "Why does it still hurt?" He asked, bending over, grasping his forehead and chest tightly, clenching his teeth as his heart continued aching, beating with strain in his chest.

* * *

Spyro was breathing heavily. He felt tired and had several sore spots over his body. He was sweating and was having a bit of a hard time staying on his feet.

"Guys?" Spyro called in a breathless voice. "Can we… please take… a break?" He said between tired breaths.

At that, The three dragons surrounding Spyro, making him back up into one of the corners of the Training Arena, all took a step back and let out a collection of disappointed sounds. Zap, Bash and Drobot, rather reluctantly, allowed Spyro to catch his breath.

"Aw come on, man!" Zap complained. "We've only been training for a couple of hours!"

"And that isn't enough?" Spyro asked, as he let out a deep breath, trying to even his respiration.

"Not if you want to take us out for that try out mission." Bash declared with a serious tone, reminding Spyro of the true purpose of this exercise.

"I must agree with Bash," Drobot stated. "As I recall, you insisted we should develop our team coordination to improve our potential as Skylanders." He recalled. "This exercise, which _you_ proposed-" He said, pointing at Spyro, causing him to roll his eyes. "-Was designed so we could all get familiar with each others powers and find the best ways to coordinate with each other accordingly." He stated eloquently.

"Yeah, and seeing as you have impenetrable scales," Zap interjected. "We had the perfect practice dummy." He said, grinning mischievously at Spyro.

"Har, Har," Spyro laughed mirthlessly. "Just cuz' it doesn't hurt me doesn't mean it feels nice, Zap." He stated bitterly as he stretched out his sore legs and wings.

"I think you guys did amazing!" A squeaky, friendly voice shouted, sounding like it came from above the dragons.

At that, Spyro looked up to see the familiar spectator and source of the voice. Camo was looking down from the Arena's seats, a broad smile on his face. The little dragon still had a cast around his injured wing from his wounds a while ago. However, he was looking much more lively now, which made Spyro unable to hold back a smile.

"Yeah, he's right," Another voice, female and familiar agreed. "That was quite a show guys." Cynder said with a small chuckle, which made his his roll his eyes and shake his head a bit, but he keep his smile on.

The dragoness sat down beside Camo. Both of them had been looking down at Spyro being beaten up for, _"Educational Purposes"_ for about an hour, laughing joyously.

"Well, that was a really neat training session, Spyro!" Zap declared proudly. "We should try it again some time!" He suggested as he walked over to Spyro and stretched out a paw for him to take.

"You know Zap?" Spyro began as he took Zap's paw. "That actually sounds like a good idea. But, how about we use you as the training dummy next time?" He suggested with a smirk.

"I wouldn't say no to that." Bash declared with a small chuckle.

"Hey! It's not my fault the hologram villian proyector-thingy isn't working today!" Zap said, raising his paws defensively.

"Regardless," Drobot interjected. "I do believe this exercise was a success." He stated energetically. "I have registered very complete data on your abilities-" He stated, turning over to Bash and Zap. "-And I believe we should now be able to coordinate to a much better degree."

"That's good to hear Drobot," Spyro said, genuine joy in his voice. "And I gotta say, you guys hit hard." He stated, rubbing one of his cheeks from a mild throbbing pain cause of Bash smacking him in the head with his tail.

"Thanks!" The three dragons said in proud unison, causing Spyro to let out a mildly stressed sigh.

"All that would be left to do," Drobot picked up. "Would be for Camo to recover so we can run a similar test on him and the others, Sunburn and Whirlwind, I believe they were called." He held his chin, looking up and to the side.

"Those two have kind of been missing, haven't they?" Zap asked. "I don't think I've seen either one for a while now." He stated.

"Yeah, you're right," Spyro agreed, suddenly very aware of the two dragon's absence. "I wonder where they went off to?" He pondered.

However, Spyro suddenly remembered why both dragons had flown off. He was a little disheartened by the recollection. He remembered Sunburn stormed off because of his grudge with Cyrus, and that Whirlwind had just up and left for reasons Spyro couldn't really understand.

But, after a moment and a short sigh, Spyro shook his head and made himself focus on the moment. "Alright guys, I think we should take a break," He offered. "You all need a rest, and quite frankly, so do I." He admitted, rubbing his cheek again.

"Well alright then," Zap began. "Let's get outta here, I'm beat." He declared, yawning soon afterwards. "You, uh, have any place for new recruits to sleep?" He asked Spyro.

"Yeah actually," Spyro replied. "There's a lot of houses you guys could share." He stated.

"Wait, share?" Bash stepped in, sounding a bit concerned.

"Yep, share," Spyro confirmed. "Don't worry though, you all get diferent rooms, and at least two bathrooms." He said encouragingly. "There's going to be plenty of space for you all, believe me." He promised.

At that, Bash, Zap and Drobot exchanged sideways glances Spyro couldn't decipher the meaning of. However, after a moment, the three dragons seemed to come to terms with the arrangement.

"Okay then," Zap spoke up. "Where's our place?" He asked simply.

* * *

Whirlwind felt conflicted. The gentle push of the wind against her body, which was usually soothing and relaxing for her, did nothing to help her focus.

She shook her head and shut her eyes close. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about what she had just flown away from. When she thought of what a conversation with the person who kidnapped her and gave her up to some brainwashing monster would have been like, she never thought it would go the way it did.

" _He sounded so sad,"_ Whirlwind thought to herself, playing back Cyrus' words through her mind. _"Does… does he really feel sorry?"_ She wondered. _"And… he also didn't…"_ She began thinking wearily, a strange, almost foreign sensation of hope bubbling within her as she traced her claws over the horn on her forehead.

Whirlwind then shook her head wildly and flung her eyes open. She looked ahead, feeling silly. She was hoping for something stupid, she should know better by now. So, putting her mind into it, Whirlwind pushed the complicated thoughts and hopes away, back into the darker corners of her consciousness.

However, before she could relax, completely out of the blue, Whirlwind heard a loud, sudden sound, like a small explosion. This unexpected sound was enough for Whirlwind to let out a frightened yelp and come to an abrupt stop to turn around and get a look at the source of the loud blast.

She was expecting some sort of enemy, like a greeble or a troll. But what she was faced with was something very diferent. She saw a familiar, yet still amusingly peculiar red feathered dragon.

"Sunburn!" Whirlwind called the dragon's name, a small smile building on her face.

"Hello, Whirlwind" Sunburn began, giving Whirlwind a small smile back. However, halfway through his sentence, Sunburn's eyes wandered slightly upward, just above Whirlwind's eyes. There, the stayed fixed on something, for a second, but it was enough.

This made Whirlwind feel an all too familiar discomfort. She felt like she was being probed, and even though Sunburn was quick to draw his gaze back, she noticed that the smile he was now putting on looked diferent, more forced.

"Where are you going?" Sunburn asked in a try-to-be casual tone. "I was heading back to the Academy."

"Yeah, me too," Whirlwind replied in a deflated tone, averting her eyes from Sunburn.

"Well, l-let's go then," Sunburn suggested awkwardly. "They are probably waiting for us." He said, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, you're right." Whirlwind agreed, trying to cheer herself up as she turned around and started flying back to the Academy, Sunburn's wingbeat close behind her.

The two dragons traveled in silence save for the sound of the wind being sliced by their wings. Whirlwind felt disheartened, for there was yet another friend she had to bear having an invisible wall around. Since he was right behind her, Whirlwind managed to keep her composure, limiting herself to curse her stupid white horn in silence.

The two dragons had traveled a fair distance now and noticed that the sun was actually starting to get really close to the horizon, turing the sky a bright orange. Whirlwind could also see the colorful buildings that made up the Academy closing in quickly. As Whirlwind continued flying closer, she could spot several Skylanders walking around, heading to diferent places.

Most of them, Whirlwind couldn't recognise, however, there were a few who she did know. She smiled a little smile when she saw Spyro, Cynder and the others, all grouped together, following the purple dragon down a road that led off the main courtyard.

Whirlwind decided to find out where they were heading to, so she began flying over to them. "Hey, guys!" She called, causing them to look up at her.

"Hey Whirlwind, Sunburn!" Spyro replied, smiling and waving up at the duo.

"Where are you going?" Whirlwind asked, curious as she descended to meet her fellow dragons.

"To your new house!" Spyro responded cheerfully.

It took her a moment to understand what Spyro had just said. "Our, _what_?" Whirlwind blurted out, tripping as she landed in front of the group.

She quickly tried getting on her feet, looking away from Spyro and the others with an embarrassed blush on her face. She saw as Sunburn landed beside her and tried to help her up, letting her rest some of her weight on his side.

"Your new house, Whirlwind," Cynder spoke up, walking over to Whirlwind and helping her up as well. "You guys are going to have to stay here at the Academy to train from now on." She explained patiently.

At that, Whirlwind's face slowly lit up. She realized, she was going to live here now. "Oh! Oh wow, we're getting a house? where is it? Is it close to yours?" She asked her violet friend, with renown energy and cheer.

This caused Cynder to give out a small giggle. "All the houses are rather close to each other, so we're kind of going to be neighbours!" She said.

"Hey, you didn't tell us about that!" Camo's squeaky voice came from behind Cynder. "That's really cool! I've never had neighbours before!" The little green dragon stated with excitement

"Well, there's always a first buddy," Zap said, walking up to Camo and nudging him on the shoulder. "We're also gonna ve roomies you know?" He said with a smirk.

After hearing Zap's words, Camo's eyes went round and for a second, the little dragon stayed very still. Then out of the blue, Camo jumped up and cheered. "Roomies!" He exclaimed, hugging Zap in a sudden motion that caught the blue dragon off guard, causing him to trip and fall over, thudding on the floor.

This caused everyone to let out an amused laugh, save for Bash, who just rolled his eyes and chuckled lightly.

"This sounds great," Sunburn spoke up. "Getting to know all of you better will be much easier with such proximity."

"I agree," Drobot interjected. "Living together should also help with our communication skills." He predicted.

"Alright everyone," Spyro spoke up, calling everyone's attention. "Let's get you to the house so you can settle in. The sun's almost out." He said, looking over to the horizon.

"He's right," Cynder stepped in. "Come on guys, let's get going." She insisted kindly, moving ahead, waving for the others to follow.

At that, Whirlwind began trotting excitedly after her friend, followed closely by the rest of the group.

After a few minutes of walking, the group arrived at a mid-sized isle on which a large, homy-looking house was centered. It had the distinct, grey, gold, and blue color scheme of most buildings in the academy, and was decorated with several colorful banners, each colored and modeled after the Skylands' elements. In the distance, Whirlwind could see a number of other houses, very similar, yet not identical to the one they had in front of them.

"Wow… that's, bigger than I thought it'd be." Camo said as he admired the house. with wide eyes and mouth agape.

Whirlwind shared the sentiment of surprise. She wasn't expecting something like this. Seeing the outside of the house however, only made her more excited to see the inside.

This made her quickly spot the main door into the house, a dark brown double-door with golden handles, wide enough for two of her companions to enter shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Well," Spyro began. "You should sort out your rooms," He recommended, gesturing at the house. "I should mention," He added quickly. "If there happens to be a lack of breakfast, it's probably just cuz Pop Fizz hoarded it all a while ago. Just go to the cafeteria and eat there." The purple dragon explained, refusing further details on the odd story.

"Anyway, we should be going," Cynder spoke up. "Skylanders need their sleep!" She said, letting out a small yawn afterwards, which Whirlwind noticed Spyro caught soon after.

"Yeah, she's right." Spyro agreed with his friend. "Anyway, we'll let you guys decide how you arrange yourselves. There should be enough space for all of you." He said confidently. "So, I'll be seeing you all tomorrow!" Added with a wave, before lifting himself off the ground with his wings. "Later, guys!" He shouted as he began flying away, to his own home, Whirlwind guessed.

"I should go too," Cynder said apologetically. "See you all tomorrow!" She exclaimed as she too, took off, flying in a diferent direction to Spyro, letting Whirlwind know the two dragons had diferent homes.

After both dragons disappeared, Whirlwind turned around and looked at the her companions, who were already closing in on the house. She then rushed over and made her way to front of the group. There they all stared up at the house's door, none taking any steps to open it.

"I just want everyone to know," Camo spoke up in a serious sounding tone, that made Whirlwind look down at him. "That, if for any reason-" He continued, a somber expression on his face, as he took a pause. However, when the little dragon lifted his head, he spoke rapidly"-There is a bunk bed I call dibs in the top bunk!" He blurted out with a goofy smile.

"Dang it!" Zap shouted suddenly, kicking a nearby rock and scoffing, causing Camo to giggle mischievously.

"Alright," Sunburn spoke up. "We should just get in and see what we're going to be dealing with." He stated, taking the initiative and grasping one of the handles on the door.

The feathery dragon then turned the handle and pushed, effectively opening the door and then walking into the house. Whirlwind followed quickly after, followed inside by the rest of the group. The six dragons made their way to a large living room space in the center of the house.

The large room had a spacious design and had hallways that led to the right and left. On the far wall, opposed to the dragons, were large, scenic windows that let them look out at the night sky. The living room itself had several homely things, like a number of diferent colored couches, a low table, a colorful rug and even a TV.

"Alright," Camo spoke up suddenly. "Where is that bunk bed!?" He asked, rubbing his paws in anticipation.

"Let's go look for it dude!" Zap suggested energetically.

"Yeah, let's!" Camo agreed with the same energy.

"Guys," Sunburn called, speaking in an inside voice. "We shouldn't rush-"

The red dragon was unable to finish his sentence before the blue and green duo rushed off and headed to the left hallway, their steps making it sound like they were ascending some stairs.

"Well, this place really is big." Bash said, looking around the room, slowly making his way to the hallway on the right of the room. "And it's got a kitchen." He remarked, a tiny speck of excitement in his voice.

"Really?" Sunburn asked, much more noticeable excitement in his voice as he walked over to the hallway Bash was looking down.

Whirlwind wandered over as well when she saw both dragons walk down the hallway. As she walked over, she noticed that Drobot followed as well. Soon, Whirlwind found herself in a very diferent room.

The kitchen had tile flooring, as well as a large space, separated from the rest of the room by a polished wood counter, designated for cooking. In this space, was an oven, a stove, a sink, a microwave and several cupboards. To the side of this space, was also a large metal fridge. Near the center of the room was a large, circular table with several chairs.

"This is very spacious." Drobot said as he walked over to the fridge. The coppery green dragon then pulled the fridge door open and peered inside for a moment. Then, he closed the door and looked over to the other dragons with disappointed eyes. "Spyro was right, there's no food." He stated.

"Well, it's no trouble, we'll just go eat to the cafeteria like he said," Sunburn stated as he wandered to one of the corners of the room. There, he stopped and Whirlwind noticed he looked down. "There's a trap door here." He said flatly.

"A trap door?" Whirlwind asked as she walked over to where Sunburn was.

Once there, she noticed there indeed was a trap door, which Sunburn had already swung open. The stairway down seemed to be in good condition. There was very little dust and there were a couple of lightbulbs on the way down. However,Whirlwind still wondered why this passage would be here.

"I would like to call dibs," Drobot declared casually.

"What!?" Whirlwind asked, surprised anyone would like to go down there willingly. "You want _that_ to be your room?" She asked, gesturing at the gloomy stairway and

"Indeed," Drobot responded, looking down the hatch. "I tend to be very noisy when I… _work_." He explained dodgingly. "I imagine the basement is a rather soundproof, so, it meets my needs and spares you all from the loud noises of machinery in the morning." He explained.

"Suit yourself," Bash invited. "I'm going to search for my room." He stated, turning around and heading back to the main room.

"Well, Drobot," Sunburn began. "Sleep well," He said peeking down at the basement hatch. "...I guess?" He added hesitantly.

"Thank you!" Drobot replied with a smile. "Sleep well, too." He said kindly before walking down the basement stairway and closing the hatch behind him.

Afterwards, Whirlwind and Sunburn walked back to the main room. There, they saw Bash walking up the stairs Zap and Camo had rushed up a couple of minutes ago. Quickly, Whirlwind walked over, with Sunburn following her.

After all three dragons reached the top of the stairs, they were faced with another hallway. This one was lined with several doors. There were two doors on each side of the hallway and one last door at the end, which had a small label above it's frame which said: "bathroom".

However, Whirlwind noticed there was one door already open. The first to the right. She also noticed that the sound of faint snoring was emanating from the room and deduced that Zap and Camo had found their bunk bed and were already fast asleep.

"Alright," Sunburn spoke up, walking up to the first door to the left. "I'll sleep here tonight. We can sort out the rooms a bit better tomorrow." He suggested.

"That sound like a plan." Whirlwind said, just before she felt a yawn come up, letting herself know how tired she really was.

"Fine." Bash said plainly as he began heading to the second door on the left. There, he used his mouth to turn the doorknob and let himself into his room. Afterwards, he shut the room door and made no other sound.

"Well, that's that," Sunburn began,turning to Whirlwind. "Good night." He said in a sleep voice before opening his door and walking into his room, quietly closing the door behind him.

"Good night…" Whirlwind said in a tired tone at Sunburn's closed door.

Afterwards, Whirlwind walked over to the second door to the right. There, she turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. After she walked into her room, she felt herself smile a tiny, pleased smile.

Her room looked very homy. It had a roughly circular shape and looked like a sort of dome, which had windows on the ceiling, which let her look up at the starry night sky. There were a couple of drawers, a closet, a mid-sized chest for storage and a nightstand. The bed however, might have been her favorite part of the room. It was perfectly circular and it was in the center of the room. It had plenty of diferent colored and diferent shaped pillows.

So, without a moment's hesitation, Whirlwind slumped over her new bed, curling up and resting her head over some of the pillows. Then, with a small sigh, she closed her heavy eyelids and stayed still, waiting patiently for sleep to come.

And soon enough, Whirlwind crossed into a pleasant, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Far away from the Academy, in a small, electronics shop, Dan was sweating bullets. The small mabu, who was the shopkeeper of the store felt like he was about to die from hypothermia. He was shaking and desperately trying to keep himself warm, all while two hooded figures were standing a single shop counter away from him.

Both of them had the same, ash-colored robes, covering their faces and bodies, but from their voices, which each had a thick, distinct and peculiar accent, Dan could tell they were both male. One of them was tall and carried himself with poise. The other was smaller and was hunchbacked.

This smaller figure was holding an mp3 player in one of its hands. "What is this rectangle?" The smaller figure asked in a croaky, grating voice which had a thick, foreign accent. "What does it do?" It asked as it shook the mp3 in its hand.

"I-I-It's an mp3 player s-sir," Dan answered after swallowing. "It p-plays music."

"Music?" The smaller figure asked, sounding impressed. "How does something this size make music?" It asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Dan couldn't honestly believe anyone didn't know what an mp3 was, or ask how it worked, but, he decided that he would answer kindly. After all, the second figure had its arms crossed over it's chest and was staying very silent, looking at him beneath the darkness cat by it's grey hood.

"Y-You use the earpods," Dan began explaining as sweat trailed down his temples. "You put them in your ears and press the little button," He added, pointing at the play button on the mp3. "And then, music starts playing." He explained.

" _Wow, wie faszinierend!"_ The small figure exclaimed in a foreign language. Then, the figure placed the earpods on it's concealed ears. Then it pressed play and waited in silence.

After a few seconds, the small figure began shuffling in its place. Then, it started swaying it's arms and humming. Apparently it had found a song it liked. _"_ _Hey, mein freund! Das solltest du hören!"_ He said cheerfully, raising the mp3 to his companion.

" _Je vais bien,"_ The larger figure kindly refused his smaller friend's offer. Dann noticed that there was something funny about this figure's voice. It sounded like it was muffled by something, like a sort of mask.

However, Dann didn't have time to linegr to the detail, because the larger figure spoke again, this time to Dan. "How much for the thing?" He asked simply.

Dan racked his brain for the mp3's price, trying to keep a straight face as he answered. "Uhh, I think it was twenty silver." He responded shakily.

Afterwards, Dan saw as the large figure reached for something in it's cloak. Dan shrinked when he saw the figure pull it's hand out, convince he was in danger. However, he soon realized, the figure just took out a small, golden coin, which it placed on the shop counter.

"Keep the change," The figure said calmly. He then put an hand on his dancing companion's shoulder and said something. _"Allez, allons mon ami."_

" _Ja, ja,"_ The smaller figure replied lazily.

Afterwards, the two figures turned around and peacefully left the store, causing no . After they left, Dan felt like heat itself returned to the world, and a crushing silence filled the air, so perfect, it let him hear his own blood roar in his ears and notice just how shaky and uneven his breath was.

Dan let out a long, uneven exhale of breath as he slumped over his counter, trying to get a grip of himself. When after a struggle, Dan lifted his head off the counter, he looked at the single gold coin the large figure had left behind.

Not being one to turn a good thing away, Dan took the coin and proceeded to close his store, grateful his night shift had ended the way it did, and not with one of those shadowy figures hurting him… or worse.

* * *

Spyro woke up with a long,loud yawn. He licked his lips as lifted his head off his bed and opened his eyes.

After properly waking up, the purple dragon made his way downstairs, flying down to the kitchen, ready for a delicious breakfast.

"Hey Eruptor!" Spyro called as he sat down on the kitchen table. "How's breakfast coming…" The purple dragon's voice trailed off. "Along?" He finished, narrowing his eyes in suspicion when he noticed the magma Skylander wasn't even in the kitchen.

"Huh, he kind of takes pride in this." Spyro said to himself, recalling how much the magma Skylander enjoyed his little hobby of cooking.

Afterwards, Spyro stood up and searched the house, flying from room to room in search of Eruptor. However, not only did he not find his friend, but he also noticed that the rest of his friends were missing too.

"Did the all get up early?" Spyro asked himself out loud. "Hmm, maybe Eon and Kaossandra know what's up." He concluded, having guessed that his team probably just left early to mess with him.

After eating a simple ham sandwich he pieced together from the food in the kitchen, Spyro left his house, flying over to the Academy courtyard. On his way there however, he came across a sight that made him come to stop.

He saw none other than his brother, walking over to the Academy courtyard as well. He walked in the same, creepy manner he used to back when Spyro remembered him as an enemy. With his wings dragging behind him and with his head a bit low.

It made Spyro get a small dose of chills, but, he powered through and dived down to speak to his brother. "Hey, Cyrus!" He called cheerfully.

At that, Cyrus turned over to Spyro. When he saw his brother flying down to meet him, the indigo dragon smiled a small smile. "Hello Spyro." He greeted kindly.

"Hey man," Spyro picked up after he landed, walking up to his brother's side. "Where are you going?" He asked, curious.

"Nowhere really," Cyrus responded with a sigh. "I just didn't get to see the whole place on out tour yesterday." He said, giving Spyro a slightly bigger smile.

"Oh! You're right!" Spyro said with realization, his heart beating a bit faster as joy began swelling up within it. "Well, we could go visit the infirmary and the cafeteria today!" He said cheerfully, overjoyed at the thought of Cyrus willingly wanting to spend more time with him.

Cyrus then let out a small chuckle. "That sounds great." He said.

However, before the duo could go any further, Spyro heard as someone called his name in the distance.

When Spyro turned his head over to the source of the call, he saw a great many familiar faces. "Oh, hey guys!" Spyro called back, waving at his six new friends.

Spyro was smiling as he saw his new trainees approaching, however, when he focused on Cyrus once again, his smile was quick to fade. Cyrus was looking down at his paws and looked a lot more glum than when he did a few moments ago. Actually, he seemed to be moving to leave.

"Some other time perhaps." Was all Spyro managed to hear his brother say before he began walking away.

"Cyrus, wait!" Spyro tried calling, however, his words didn't seem to reach his brother's ears in time, because the indigo dragon continued walking away in silence, leaving the scene just as the other six dragon's entered it.

"Hey, Spyro!" Camo's voice sounded once again, much closer since the little dragon was right in front of Spyro. "Whatcha doing?" He asked innocently.

Spyro didn't really listen to his friend the first time he spoke. He was looking over to Cyrus, who just kept slowly drifting away, making a strange ache in Spyro's heart grow with each step he took.

"Spyro?" A diferent voice called, it's mildly synthesised sound made Spyro realize it belonged to Drobot. "Are you quite alright?" He asked, concerned.

"Y-Yeah Drobot, I'm fine." He said, turning his head over to his friends suddenly. "I was just… talking with someone else." He said, glancing to the side.

"Well, we wanted to say," Zap spoke up. "That the new house rules!" He cheered.

"True!" Camo added to his friend's commentary.

"That's good to hear guys." Spyro said with a small smile, unable to stay with low spirits around his friends.

He decided he would finish his tour with Cyrus latter that day, after his duties as a Skylander were fulfilled and he had some time for himself.

Som focusing on the people in front of him and seeing as Sunburn and Whirlwind, who had missed out yesterday's training session where here now, Spyro was about to open his mouth to suggest a training exercise.

However, before the purple dragon could speak, a much louder voice filled the air. "Spyro!" A powerful voice boomed completely out of the blue.

This caused everyone to jump up in surprise and give out frightened yelps. Bash and Sunburn even got into battle pose on reflex. Only Spyro kept his composure, in fact he had a mildly annoyed face and rolled his eyes, because he was the only one who knew what had just happened.

"Hello Master Eon," Spyro greeted the large, ethereal head that had materialized over the group of dragons.

"Oh, sorry. I did it again," Master Eon's floating head apologised with an embarrassed giggle. "Anyway, as I was about to say; Spyro I need to speak to you about a matter of great importance in the Academy common room." He stated in his narrator-like voice. "Come as quickly as you can." He said, just before disappearing in a flash of blue light.

"Well, looks like you have work." Zap said jokingly.

"It's probably best for you to go," Sunburn began. "If Master Eon says it's important, you should be there." He said eloquently. "Besides, we aren't going anywhere. You have some teaching to do." He added, along with a friendly nudge to Spyro's shoulder.

"Heh, yeah, you bet," Spyro replied with a smirk. "Well then, I guess I'll be going. Don't go graduating without me!" He joked as he took off to the air, leaving his friends behind him and heading to the Academy gates.

When he arrived and landed at the large blue doors, Spyro proceeded to push them open and head inside. In the large, family room, Spyro saw two familiar figures.

Sitting behind on her chair, resting her elbows on her desk and with a troubled expression on her face, was Kaossandra. And pacing through the empty space on the room was Master Eon's ethereal form.

The air around both portal masters felt severe and it made Spyro worry. "Uh, hey guys, what's the problem?" He asked in as relaxed a voice as he could.

"Spyro, I'm afraid we have some bad news." Kaossandra was the first to speak, opening with a rather concerning line. "It's about your previous team." She stated.

At that, Spyro dropped the act and listened in carefully. "What's the matter?" He asked.

"They are all alive, and mostly alright." Kaossandra said soothingly, putting a big chunk of Spyro's unease at rest, causing him to let out a relieved sigh. "However, there is a… situation." She added.

"What situation?" Spyro pressed, still a little concerned.

"There is no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it like it is." Kaossandra stated, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a moment. "Your friends went on a mission to Winter Keep to fight the One-Eyed Legion. They succeeded, but… their Relay Badges got damaged and they were left stranded." She explained somberly.

Spyro felt the blood drain from his face after hearing those words. "They're stranded!?" He exclaimed, distressed.

"Don't worry young dragon," Eon stepped in, speaking calmingly. "They are all under Avril and the Frost Elf Guard's care and are perfectly alright." He stated, managing to calm Spyro slightly. "And we are currently working on contacting Captain Flynn. His ship is fast enough to get your fellow Skylanders and bring them back in roughly two days." He finished with a confident smile.

"The only problem so far has been finding him," Kaossandra stepped in. "We've tried calling him, but I'd have to guess he's lost his phone because he hasn't been answering." The sorceress grumbled, narrowing her eyes dangerously at the thought of Flynn's carelessness. "But, when we do find him, he should bring your friends back soon enough. Even so, until then, I have no doubt in my mind Stealth Elf and the others will be perfectly fine. They are strong heroes, all of them." She finished a small smile tugging at her lips.

At the sorceress' trusting commentary, Spyro couldn't help but feel better. Both he and Kaossandra shared a very firm trust in his friends. Spyro was a little distressed by the news that his friends were stranded somewhere and that, knowing Captain Flynn, there wasn't an exactly set time for them to get back, but now, thanks to his headmasters, old and new, he felt much more sure of the fact that his friend were all alright.

"Well, this was good to know," Spyro began. "I just hope you guys can find Flynn quickly." He added, smirking at the portal masters.

"Oh, believe me, Spyro," Master Eon started up. "We'll be having our fingers crossed." He said, crossing his fingers and giving Spyro a pleasant smile.

This made Spyro let out a small chuckle. "Anyway," He picked up. "I have some dragons to train." He said, reminding the duo of his new responsibilities. "So, if that's all?" He paused, glancing between the portal masters, making sure there was nothing else to be said.

"Actually Spyro," Master Eon spoke up. "There is one more thing." He added. "We have been receiving reports that an old villainous acquaintance of ours has been sighted." He said in a serious tone.

"Really?" Spyro asked, his curiosity rising.

"It's none other than one of the dastardly Doom Raiders…" Master Eon continued. " _Broccoli Guy_!" He said dramatically, adding effect with movements from his arms.

Spyro stood in silence. He had his lips pursed and his eyes half open in an expression that conveyed a word, rather than an emotion. The word was _"Seriously?"_ Eon didn't seem to be kidding, and Kaossandra also didn't look like she was joking. It admittedly stressed Spyro out a bit, that they had called him of all Skylanders to handle, arguably, the weakest Doom Raider of the bunch.

However, Spyro began looking at the idea of dealing with broccoli guy in a diferent angle, a very diferent angle. The more he entertained the idea, the better it sounded in his head, until, Spyro resolved to suggest it to his headmasters.

"I have an idea," Spyro started up, calling the attention of both portal masters. "Maybe, I could bring along my new trainees along for the ride, you know, as a sort of test?" He tried, attempting to sound as sure of himself as he could.

"You want to send recruits to deal with a Doom Raider?" Master Eon asked, stupefied.

" _Six_ recruits, on _one_ annoying green vegetable." Spyro corrected. "C'mon! It'll be a good chance to introduce them to the real deal of being a Skylander." He argued, taking flight to be at level with Master Eon's ethereal outline. "I'll be with them too, it'll be educational." He added.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea Spyro," Master Eon said, stroking his beard in through. "Broccoli Guy is more dangerous than he seems. Remember, that with his staff's elemental drain powers, he can obtain a terrible might." He reminded Spyro.

"I think it could be a good idea." Kaossandra stated casually, making Spyro's face light up.

"Really!?" Both SPyro and Eon said in surprised unison, turning their heads toward the sorceress.

"Those dragons could use some practical training," Kaossandra began. "Besides, supervising a live battle with also be a good test of leadership for you Spyro." She added, giving Spyro a smirk that made her look just a tiny smidge evil. "Are you sure you can handle it, boy?" She dared.

This didn't dampen Spyro's spirits however. The purple dragon smirked back and spoke boldly. "Just let me show you."

Spyro's comeback made Kaossandra scoff. "Alright, Skylander," She began. "Broccoli Guy has been sighted to the west of the Academy, near Greenspring Isle." She informed.

"Then I'll be going." Spyro replied. "Need to tell the guys!" He said excitedly, hurrying back to the common room doors and readied to leave.

"Spyro!" Kaossandra suddenly called, making Spyro stop in his tracks and slowly turn around to face the sorceress. Her expression was one of regret, like she was about to say something she didn't really want to say. She took a deep breath before speaking, but soon enough, the words came. "Camo can't go with you."

* * *

"I can go!?" Camo exclaimed, indingnified as he looked up at Spyro. "W-Why!?" He demanded.

"You're still hurt Camo," Spyro began explaining, not looking at Camo. "This is going to be dangerous and I can't take you if you aren't at your fullest."

"But I am at my fullest!" Camo argued desperately. "I can still fight!"

"But can you fly?" Spyro asked, making Camo fall silent. He then looked over at his broken wing. "Camo, you need to be able to react to attacks coming at you that have a killer intent behind them. If you can't dodge them and if you can't run away from them, then… you aren't at your fullest." He finished with a low sigh.

Camo stayed silent, looking up at Spyro, hoping for his friend to reconsider. "Please?" He asked softly. "I don't want to be left behind." He pleaded.

At that, Camo saw as Spyro turned to face him, a sad look on his face. The purple dragon then placed a paw on Camo's shoulder and forced himself to give Camo a small half smile. "You aren't going to be left behind," Spyro stated, speaking with certainty. "You are going to become a Skylander too, and no later than the rest of your teammates," He stated.

"H-How do you know?" Camo asked, taken back by Spyro's words.

"Because," Spyro picked up, his smile becoming more genuine as he took his paw off Camo's shoulder. "Even though you have the most room to grow, Camo… you always seem to grow the fastest." He stated, making Camo's mouth drop by an inch and his eyes to brighten up.

"You learn fast, and nothing gets you down," Spyro continued. "If anything, I think we needed to get the others a head start, otherwise, you'd become a Skylander before them!" He said playfully, getting a small giggle out of Camo.

"Y-You really think that?" Camo asked nervously, fidgeting with his paws and tilting his head down a little.

"I do," Spyro responded. "You are a good person Camo, and that's a bigger part of being a Skylander than fighting bad guys." He said steadily.

After hearing those words, Camo felt a surge of joy course through him. He felt a powerful urge building up within him, and he could barely keep himself in place.

"Huh," Spyro began, looking up and to the side and holding his chin, as if in though. "That sounded pretty cool. Maybe becoming team captain has increased my _heroic wisdom_." He said dramatically, chuckling to himself.

Meanwhile, Camo couldn't keep it in anymore. The little dragon leaped up at his friend and trapped him in a tight hug that caught him off guard, causing him to let out a surprised gasp.

"Thank you." Camo whispered as he hugged his friend, moved by Spyro's words.

At that, Spyro hugged Camo back and gave him a series of soft pats in the back. After a few moments, Spyro spoke quietly. "C'mon man," He began. "There's people watching." He said with a nervous chuckle.

At that, Camo flung his previously closed eyes open and in a split second realized that he and Spyro were in the Academy courtyard, being stared at by Skylanders and dragons alike.

"Oh, right, sorry." Camo said, letting go of Spyro and stepping away, covering himself from peering eyes with his wings.

"Well, that was really moving to watch," Zap spoke up. "But, last time I checked we had a bad guy to catch." He reminded the other dragon's present.

"Yes, we can't allow a Doom Raider to remain on the loose." Sunburn stated in a serious tone. "We should get moving." He insisted.

"Yeah, you're right," Spyro agreed. "Let's go down to the Portal Gates and get set." He said as he began to walk away, cueing the rest of Camo's friends to follow.

However, before leaving off, Spyro had one last couple of seconds to turn around and give Camo a firm nod, along with a friendly thumbs up, which was enough to get the little dragon to smile a wide, happy smile.

It felt really good to have someone believe in him so much. He felt cheerful and overflowing with energy, which he resolved to spend doing something useful. And so, Camo began heading off to the Academy training course. He was aware he was in rough shape for fighting or doing obstacle courses, but he was certainly well enough to do some target practice.

It took him longer than he was used to, since running was definitely slower than flying, but Camo began to close in on the large building that was the Academy training arena. It was a few isles and bridges away, which made Camo grumble about his broken wing under his breath. But, in spite of this, he kept going.

He was about halfway there, when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something. A shape, colored purple. It made Camo stop abruptly, almost by reflex, because he could have sworn it was none other than Spyro.

Curious, Camo took a couple of steps backwards and tried peering out at the purple outline. He noticed that the purple dragon was moving, but not to leave the isle he was in, but rather, to find a comfortable position to lay down.

Camo began feeling the very powerful pull of curiosity take a tight hold of him. It swept him of his feet, compelling him to walk forward, to get a closer look. The little dragon soon found himself walking toward the purple figure, making his way through the floating isles.

These shattered bits of land were a little further apart than the ones which made traversing them a bit more difficult. Camo had to leap and claw onto the small, earthy bits of floating land as he crossed over to the purple dragon.

Camo was close now. He could see the larger isle, just one jump away. This one was a bit further away than the rest though. The distance made Camo hesitate and take a step back, but, after a deep breath, his determination made him take another step back, and then another all the way until Camo was standing on the edge of the small rock he was on.

Then, Camo began running, as fast as he could through the stretch of land he had, and then, when he felt the edge of the isle under his paws, Camo jumped, flinging his body through the gap between isles.

He felt himself rise and then drop through the air. He stretched his paws out to catch the edge of the isle when he landed. Camo felt the solid rim of the isle crash against his chest and the dirt of the ground be split by his claws as he tried to strengthen his hold and stop himself from falling.

Once the little dragon had steadied his hold on the isle, he used his hind legs to push himself up, and shifted his weight forward, effectively getting himself onto the isle. There he lay, belly up and breathing hard.

"That was… difficult..." Camo said between tired breaths as he slowly shifted, getting back on his feet. "Need… more… cardio…" He added, now on his feet as he took a look around the isle.

After catching his breath, Camo found himself raising an eyebrow, for he noticed the purple dragon wasn't here anymore. The purple spot he had seen lying down on the centre of the isle, was simply no longer there.

Camo then started slowly walking to the centre of the isle, treading lightly. He panned his head and looked around, trying to find a sign of where the purple dragon had gone.

"What are you doing?" A voice asked suddenly.

Camo let out a shrill scream and jumped up in fright, turning around to see who had sneaked up on him.

After doing this, Camo tensed up, when he saw a purple figure looking down at him. At first he thought it was Spyro, but, he quickly realized it wasn't his friend. He realized this, when he met the purple dragon's eyes.

They were green, a vile, poisonous green. They had slits instead of pupils, from which a cold, pained loathing seemed to seep out. Looking at them made Camo whimper and shrink, now fully aware of who this dragon was.

However, something then happened, something that took Camo by surprise. The vile eyes he had stared into, suddenly changed, after Cyrus blinked and seemed to recognise Camo. The anger Camo had seen seeping out of them had been replaced by regret, and the thin, inhumane slits had widened into a softer, less acuseing glare.

"I'm sorry," Cyrus said softly, lowering his head. "I just didn't recognise you right away." He apologised, as he scratched his neck.

"I-It's alright," Camo began shakily. "I j-just thought you were S-Spyro." Camo explained.

That seemed to amuse Cyrus, because Camo noticed his lips curled upwards, just a tiny bit, and only for a second, but just enough for the little green dragon to notice.

"Anyway," Camo began. "What are you doing all the way out here?" He tried asking innocently.

At that, Camo noticed that Cyrus' expresion darkened slightly and that the indigo dragon suddenly rubbed his eyes, as if he was tired. "Nothing really," Cyrus started, sounding drained. "I just wanted some quiet I suppose." He said unconvincingly.

Camo looked at Cyrus in silence. The indigo dragon had his head low, and had his wings drooping at his sides and even let out a small yawn. All of that, combined with the black lines he had seen under Cyrus' eyes, made Camo deduce the indigo dragon hadn't been sleeping well.

Camo then saw as images started playing out in his mind. Flashes of information he was surprised he still remembered.

He saw himself walking through his home, the Forest of Life, surrounded by grandiose trees, ancient, moss-covered boulders and long, winding streams, all showered by the light of the sun, faded into a pleasant shimmer by the leaves of the trees above.

He remembered being happy, pulling pranks on the gullible deer and rabbits that wandered through the forest, covering them in sticky fruit, bending over in laughter afterwards.

But then one day, his life changed. In just a few moments, his life had been put on it's head. He remembered being attacked, by a purple dragon, one with poison in his eyes and death's cold embrace in his paws. He remembered blacking out, as the heat was drained out of his blood, and the air in his lungs became thin. Then, for the longest time, all he was able to remember, were faint images and sounds, coming to him through a dark veil.

And throughout all that time, Camo always felt in his heart he would meet that same indigo dragon on another day, and feared that day so much, he could never properly picture himself doing anything about it. If anything, he expected things to go the exact same way they had gone last time.

But now, Camo was looking up at the very same same dragon and not only was Camo completely fine, he could see some details, faint clues that showed him something he wasn't expecting to see.

He might have had the same scales, the same build and the same markings on his chest and forehead, but, for some reason, Camo felt like he had a very dragon in front of him.

So, swallowing hard and mustering his courage, Camo spoke up. "H-Hey," He started up a little shakily. "Are you alright?" He asked nervously.

At that, Camo saw Cyrus flinch, as if he wasn't expecting Camo to say those words. "You...want to know… if I'm alright?" He asked back, speaking slowly, making it seem like he didn't believe what he was saying.

"Y-Yes?" Camo replied, shirking slightly.

"Why?" Cyrus asked, speaking a little more demanding than before. "Aren't you…" He started, but was unable to finish. The indigo dragon lowered his head again before picking up his sentence. "Don't you hate me?" He asked, advertising Camo's eyes.

Camo was startled by the question. He was unsure of what to do next. So, he started thinking. Camo though back to the time he was kidnapped. He was taken from his home, and he was forced to become a servant of evil. He felt like he should hate Cyrus, after all, he had been the who did all of that to him. But then, he remembered what Spyro had said.

" _He was only doing it because he was forced to."_ Spyro's words echoed in Camo's mind, like a sonorous reminder. Camo then remembered all the other things Spyro had said, like how Cyrus had been tortured and would have been killed if he didn't do what he was told and how the real bad guy was some other monster called Omen and how it was all his fault. And, he also remembered that Spyro said Cyrus helped him defeat Omen, and turn Camo and the others back to normal.

All this information, suddenly came back to Camo, and as it did, he started looking at Cyrus differently. All of a sudden, the big, indigo dragon in front of him wasn't so scary after all. In fact, he looked a little sad, wounded even.

And so, Camo took a deep breath before he spoke. "I've never been good at hating anything," He started up, showing Cyrus a thin, sympathetic smile. "And, I can't really blame you. I wouldn't have like being tortured by a psycho either." He said, shrugging innocently.

This caused Cyrus to lift his head again, a softer light in his green eyes. "So… how about we put all of that behind us?" Camo proposed, speaking a bit more cheerfully. "How about-" He began, stretching out a paw. "-If we become friends?"

Camo watched in silence as Cyrus looked at him. The indigo dragon seemed to have become a statue. He didn't move, he didn't speak, and he didn't blink. It actually made Camo start glancing to his sides nervously. He could also feel his paw get a little tired and tired holding it up in the air with help of his free paw.

But then, Cyrus blinked, and then shook his head and took a breath of air, suddenly coming back into his own body. "I…" Cyrus began shakily and it looked like a bunch of nervous ticks had been triggered, since he started glancing around and scratching his chest and neck.

However, after a bit, Cyrus took a deep breath, drawing in air, through his nose, holding it in, and then exhaling through his mouth, relaxing. Then, straightening his posture, he looked at Camo and spoke. "I… would like that." He said with a small, thin, yet happy smile as he took Camo's paw.

This made Camo feel fuzzy inside. He felt like he had done a good thing. The green dragon started smiling broadly, a smile that quickly spread from ear to ear. He could barely contain himself, but, out of fear of scaring his brand new friend, he managed not to give him a huge hug.

"Okay!" Camo said, a little loudly, because he saw Cyrus do a little, surprised jump and let go of Camo's paw. "Now that we're friends, I have so many of questions to ask you!" He said cheerfully.

At that, Cyrus's raised an eyebrow and took a step back. "I, don't think I wanna be friends anymore." He said nervously.

"Oh no, not like that!" Camo said quickly, raising his paws innocently. "What I mean is, friends generally know each other a little better than other people." He began explaining. "So, they ask each other questions to get to know each other better."

Cyrus relaxed slightly as Camo explained, taking a step back forward. "What kind of questions?" He asked, sounding a little intrigued.

"Well, let's start with something basic," Camo instructed, sitting down on his hind legs, something he noticed Cyrus mimicked. Once he was sitting down, Camo took a paw to his chin, and started thinking of questions to ask his new friend. After a few seconds, Camo's face lit up and his eyes went round. However, they quickly narrowed as he smiled a mischievous smile. "Hmm, what's your favorite fruit?" He asked trying very poorly to sound casual.

At that, Cyrus looked to the side for a second. His eyes narrowed and a small humming escaped his throat. Afterwards, he turned back to Camo and spoke. "Apples. The red ones… and the green ones." He answered, making Camo nod along. However, after a brief pause, Cyrus opened his mouth again. "But not the yellow ones." He added hurriedly, scratching his neck and glancing away.

All Camo did was smile. The little dragon was already daydreaming about all the apple-centred pranks he would be able to pull on his new friend.

However, Camo was pulled out of his daydream when Cyrus spoke up. "What's _your_ favorite fruit?" He asked politely, waiting patiently for an answer.

"Ummm," Camo thought for a second. He had eaten quite a variety of fruits in his life, so narrowing them down to one favorite proved challenging. However, he did have one fruit he enjoyed eating more than the rest. "Watermelons," Camo answers. "I like juicy fruits and they are the juiciest!" He explained with excitement.

Camo saw Cyrus smile a little wider. He still looked tired, but at least he didn't look miserable, so in Camo's eyes. It was an improvement, which made his figure the best thing to do was continue.

Camo began thinking about what else to ask. He smiled as he casually came up with an old, yet reliable question. "What's your favorite color?" He asked.

Camo was expecting to keep the cheer going, however, when he looked at Cyrus, his smile quickly vanished. The indigo dragon lowered his gaze in silence, furrowing his brow. "I… I don't think I know," He said in a down tone. "I, never had time to think about that." He said, suddenly putting a paw over his red mark, scratching it slowly.

Camo felt like the joy he'd been building up had suddenly taken a pretty bad swing. Camo's shoulders slumped forward and his eyes drooped. He immediately felt regret for pushing the conversation. He felt like he should have guessed being a psychopath's servant didn't leave enough time for a normal life.

However, Camo's spirits slowly rose when he remembered something Spyro had said to him. _"You are a good person Camo, and that's a bigger part of being a Skylander than fighting bad guys."_ The words resonated deep within Camo's being, and compelled him try and help.

With his mind cleared up,Camo quickly though up an idea. "Well, that's just not going to do." Camo stated, calling Cyrus' attention. "C'mon, follow me!" He said, standing up and waving for Cyrus to follow.

"Wha-What? Where?" Cyrus said, sounding confused as he slowly stood up, not following Camo yet.

"We're going to The Forest of Life!" Camo declared. "It's closer to the Academy than you think _and_ I know a shortcut!" Camo boasted proudly.

"Alright?" Cyrus began sounding a little unconvinced. "But, why are we going there?" He asked, taking a slow, uncertain step toward Camo.

Camo just smiled. "We're getting you a favorite color."

* * *

Spyro walked down to the Portal Gates, his friends by his side. Already down at the large metallic platform, were two familiar figures. Cynder and Sprocket were talking, waiting for Spyro and his team to arrive. What the duo was talking about, Spyro couldn't hear from that distance, mainly because there was an awful lot of talking a lot closer to him.

"So, this Greenspring Isle," Zap began. "Have we, been there before?" He asked Drobot.

"I believe it is in relative proximity to the Forest of Life," Drobot interjected. "But I do believe none of us have been there before." He confirmed.

"Ah, alright." Zap sighed. "Are you sure?" He asked his friend again.

"It sounds like a nice place," Whirlwind said. "I wonder what it looks like."

"If it's anything like the Forest of Life," Spyro began, looking over to his cyan friend. "It should be a pretty impressive sight." He promised, causing Whirlwind to brighten up slightly.

"Spyro," Bash spoke up suddenly drawing Spyro's attention. "What can we expect from this, Broccoli Guy?" He asked in a serious tone.

"You've faced him before, right?" Sunburn followed up. "Anything we should know?" He asked.

Spyro thought about the question for a second. He quickly recalled Broccoli Guy's more important traits, something that made him frown in annoyance. "He has a real talent for getting on people's nerves." He said, recalling the Doom Raider's insufferable laughter. "And he's kind of dangerous if he uses his staff." He added.

At that, Sunburn and Bash nodded in understanding, seeming satisfied.

"Hey guys!" A new voice called, coming from the Portal Gates. "How are you all doing?" Sprocket asked, waving the group of dragons over.

"We're ready for action!" Zap declared energetically. "Just send us off and we'll deal with the bad guy." He said confidently.

"Easy hotshot," Sprocket said, raising a hand at Zap. "You'll need a way back here after I send you there or in case of an emergency." She stated.

"Oh, right." Zap said, looking away and scratching the back of his head.

"Well, just know that, there aren't nearly enough for all of you," Sprocket warned as she walked over to the Portal Gates monitor and picked up a coppery box. Which she brought back to the dragons. She then opened the box and revealed it's contents.

There were a mere two bronze badges in the box. Spyro deduced it was because his other friends had taken the rest and had ended up damaging them somehow. He also guessed it was too early for Sprocket to have made new ones. However, they were going up against Broccoli Guy, so a quick getaway wasn't really a concern to Spyro.

"These are Relay Badges," Cynder stepped in suddenly. "They help us be teleported all over the Skylands, instead of just specific portals." She explained.

"Wow!" Drobot exclaimed. "That's truly fascinating technology!" He said, picking one of the box, and looking at Sprocket. "Did you make these?" He asked, sounding astounded.

"I did." Sprocked confirmed, smiling proudly.

"This is very impressive, very impressive indeed," Drobot continued. "Tell me, did you use any Arkeyan technology to develop them?" He asked, curiously.

"Yes, a particle emitter actually!" Sprocket stated. "It was very difficult to find, but, I managed to get my hands on it after a little fight with a Juggernaut."

"You defeated an Arkeyan Shield Juggernaut!?" Drobot asked, sounding dumbfounded.

"Oi! Nerds!" Zap spoke up, cutting off both Drobot and Sprocket. "We have a bad guy to catch, remember?"

"R-Right!" Both of them said shaking their heads and getting back into focus.

Spyro noticed that the two seemed to take a couple of steps away from one another and also seemed to avoid looking directly at each other, something Spyro found a little bit suspicious. However, he didn't have time to linger on it, since Sprocket spoke up quickly.

"Anyway," Sprocket picked up. "There's only two badges, and with Cynder coming along-" She gestured at the violet dragoness. "-There's gonna be seven of you. So… any volunteers?" She asked, holding the last remaining badge.

"I guess I could take it." Cynder stated, stepping a bit closer to Sprocket and holding out her paw.

"Alright, that settles it." Sprocket said as she placed the badge on Cynder's paw, for the dragoness to place on her chest. "Everyone, on the platform!" Sprocket called, making her way behind her elaborate monitor.

The large amount of people present made it so that they had to be sent across in two groups. The first group was made up by Sunburn, Drobot, Zap and Bash. The four dragons stepped onto the platform and after a few moments, they were engulfed in a beam of pure white light.

Afterwards, when the light dispersed, the four dragons were gone, allowing Spyro Cynder and Whirlwind to step onto the platform. Once there, Spyro waited patiently for Sprocket to do her thing. He had just enough time to look at his sides, where Cynder and Whirlwind waited as well. And soon enough, the flash of white light overtook Spyro's vision and felt like he was lifted off the ground, as he was sent across the Skylands.

Then, no more than a few seconds later, Spyro felt himself touch down on solid ground once again. His vision returned to him as well and he was quickly able to discern where he was.

Spyro had arrived at a green, lively clearing in a very large forest. Trees steched upward hight above the dragons and the sound of birds and beasts echoed through the clearing.

Spyro looked around and saw his friends had all arrived safe and sound and were already looking around, except for Bash, who was just sitting down. Spyro really hoped his friend had just been waiting for him and not being lazy.

"Well guys," Spyro called, making everyone look over to him. "We should start searching for Broccoli Guy. When his staff drains the elemental power out of something, it usually turns grey and cold." He explained.

"Okay, so we're looking for a trail of grey dead plants, right?" Zap asked, shrugging.

"That's pretty much it, yeah." Spyro confirmed simply.

"Alright then," Whirlwind started up. "This is a pretty big forest, we might actually get to explore a bit before we-"

"Found it." Bash stated flatly, cutting off Whirlwind.

"You found it already?" Cynder asked, amazed. "You have good eyes Bash!" She praised as she flew over to where the brown dragons was.

At that, the rest of the group didn't take long to follow. They all quickly gathered around Bash near the edge of the clearing. Once there, Spyro saw that there indeed was a trail of dead, grey grass, leading forth to a different part of the forest.

"He's probably heading to the Isle," Bash deduced. "It _is_ this way, so we should move before he damages it in some way." He insisted.

"Hold on, hold on," Spyro began, waving for Bash to wait. "Have you actually been to the isle before?" He asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at his friend.

Bash then looked off to the side. "Once." He stated.

"What's it like?" Spyro pressed, curious. "Is there anything we should know?"

"I'll tell you on the way." Bash declared as he began walking ahead, following the trail.

"Well, we _are_ a bit pressed for time." Sunburn said as he quickly trailed after Bash.

"Yeah, I guess we are." Spyro agreed, remembering their situation. "Alright everyone-" He called, making his remaining companions focus. "Let's follow Bash." He said, waving for them to move as he himself began walking after his large earthy friend.

As the group followed Bash, they started traveling through winding paths, made of dirt and grass, where the roots of the huge nearby trees didn't spread over. The dragons kept following the spots and traces of drained platlife. The dull gray color stood out very visibly against the many beautiful shades of green in the forest and made it easy for the dragons to keep on the right track.

"So, Bash," Spyro spoke up, speaking loudly, since Bash was a bit of a distance ahead of him. "About that time you went to this Isle?" He pressed, smirking.

The brown dragon let out an annoyed groan, but, despite not slowing down, he spoke up. "I came here when I was younger," He began. "Mom liked sightseeing, and she insisted this place was a must-see," He continued. "And to her credit, she wasn't wrong." He sighed, his eyes distant, as if he was remembering something.

"It's this medium sized island, near the edge of the forest," Bash began describing. "On it, there's this huge, looming menhir. On the top of this menhir, was a small magic spring," He continued, captivating his companions "This spring, was enchanted to never run out of water, so, it's contents fell down the smooth surface of the menhir, covering all of it, like a waterfall with no edges." He described making Spyro picture a truly beautiful sight.

Bash meanwhile, was looking at the distance, his lips curled upward in a genuine, nostalgic smile. "I suppose I won't mind seeing it again. It really was an amazing sight." He said, his eyes slowly focusing on what was in front of him and his smile shrinking, yet, not disappearing as he kept walking, leading his friends through the forest.

"That was a nice story to hear," Cynder said mellowly. "Thank you for sharing Bash." She said with a smile.

Bash simply nodded firmly and kept moving, a little faster than before. However, in the fleeting second Spyro managed to keep his eyes on his friend's face, he could notice the brown dragon's smile grew back again, if only a little bit.

"Well, he's still friendly," Cynder joked with a small scoff. She opened her mouth again and seemed to have more to say, however, her voice trailed off and Spyro noticed that there was a slight shiver spreading through Cynder's body which became bad enough to make the dragoness come to stop and hug herself. "Whoa, it just… got really cold out of nowhere." She said, rubbing her paws for warmth.

"Now that you mention it," Spyro began, also hugging himself. "It is getting kind of cold around here." He said, as a faint, but noticeable wave of cold washed over him.

"Yeah, you're right," Whirlwind stated, also taking a moment to heat herself. "Could it be that Broccoli Guy's magic?" She wandered.

"I don't know," Sunburn interjected. "But it is hampering our effectivity. So…" The feathered dragon paused for a moment, closing his eyes.

Then, Spyro saw as Sunburn started doing a deep, controlled breathing, inhaling through his nose, and exhaling through his mouth, all with his eyes closed. At first he wondered why the red dragon was doing this, but, his answer came when after a few breaths, Sunburn's red and yellow feathers began glowing, like embers.

Afterwards, Spyro felt pleasant heat slowly spread over him, overpowering the cold. The pleasant change of temperature made Spyro, and all of his companions, let out long relieved sighs.

"Thank you Sunburn." Everyone said in unison.

"You're all welcome." Sunburn said with a small chuckle, patting some of his faintly glowing feathers, causing some sparks to come out and flicker. "But now, we should really get moving. It's possible that Broccoli Guy caused this after all." He added, in a more serious tone.

"Yeah, you're right." Spyro agreed. Then, Spyro looked forward, over to Bash. "Alright Bash, lead the way."

At that, Bash gave Spyro a firm nod before he started walking briskly forward.

"Well, there he goes." Zap said with a groan as he started chasing after Bash.

"C'mon everyone," Spyro called as he took flight and began following Bash. "We should stick together." This cued Spyro's companions to follow his lead, taking flight and moving to follow Bash, who was already a fair distance ahead.

As Spyro flew through the forest with his friends behind him, he noticed that something was a little off. As he followed Bash he could tell that they were reaching the edge of the forest, since the trees were getting further and further apart and since he could see a greyish light, piercing the thinning line of trees, a few meters away. However, as he got closer to the end of the forest, he felt the air get colder. Even with the heat Sunburn was giving off, Spyro ended up feeling chills slowly spread through his body, making get a really bad feeling.

"Everyone," Drobot called as they kept flying. "I am detecting a very significant drop in temperature in the area ahead," He stated. "We should proceed with caution." He suggested.

It only took a few more moments, but Spyro saw Bash cross the edge of the forest, followed by Zap. It didn't take long fro SPyro and the others to cross through the last lines of trees as well.

As Spyro and his friends ended up flying out of the forest, he was expecting to see a beautiful sight, only mildly spoiled by the presence of an annoying Doom Raider. He was kind of hoping to get to see the wonderful sight Bash had described a few minutes ago, an impressive waterfall, like something out of a fairytale. But, what Spyro saw didn't make him feel disappointed, it made him skip all the way to feeling horrified.

The basic outline of the island was how Bash had described it. It was a large, roughly circular island, the edge of which, was dotted with trees, each one sporting a diferent colored kind of flower. The place was large enough for a large crowd of tourists and sightseers to gather without being too cramped. And there was, in fact, a massive menhir in the dead center of the isle. The huge, vertically imposing rock rose high above the dragons, dwarfing them and the other, smaller boulders that were spread close to the menhir completely.

However, the rest of the image, deferred completely from what Bash had described. The waterfall, falling from the top of the menhir, was frozen solid. The water that poured down and crashed on the floor of the isle, spread through the ground, like a web of tiny rivers, all turned into cold, white streams of ice. And, upon closer inspection, Spyro noticed that the green grass, and the many flowers of the trees, were all withering, killed slowly by the monstrous cold that had overtaken the isle.

Spyro was getting a really bad feeling, only made worse when a voice in the back of his head started screaming at him. _"Run!"_ It yelled, a simple, basic command, but nevertheless, a compelling one.

The feeling only got worse when his eyes wandered down, to Bash, who was standing still on the edge of the isle. Spyro flew down beside him, landing carefully. He looked at his friend, and was instantly shocked. Bash's eyes were round, his mouth was hanging half-open and his brow was furrowed. This was the first time Spyro had seen his friend express sadness. However, it didn't take long for the expression on the brown dragon's face to change. His gaze hardened, and his jaw clenched.

"Spyro," Cynder called, landing beside him, followed by the others, who landed around their friends. "This looks really bad, what should we do?" She asked.

"What we came here for." Bash growled, as he began storming off toward the menhir, leaving the others behind.

"I don't think this Broccoli Guy is in for a very good time." Zap said in a meek voice.

"We should stay together," Sunburn suggested. "If Broccoli Guy can do something like this, then maybe he's not as weak as we thought."

"Yeah," Spyro said, keeping his eyes on Bash. "Yeah, you're right." He said, a little absentmindedly.

The feeling on the back of Spyro's mind was getting louder. He kept feeling worse and worse, as to warn him that some dark, twisted horror was lurking here, breathing cold chills down his neck, out of sight.

However, Spyro felt himself snap back into focus, when he felt a soft, gentle paw touch his back. He turned around to see Cynder smiling up at him. "Whatever comes," She started up. "We can handle it. Together." She said mellowly.

Spyro felt himself smile. She never failed to make him smile. "Together." He said, holding Cynder's paw in his as he looked back at her, at her gorgeous blue eyes.

"Uh, guys?" Zap called, snapping Spyro and Cynder out if their moment. "I do believe we have a bad guy to catch?" He said.

"R-Right!" Spyro said shakily, turning away from Cynder as the dragoness did the same. "Well, uh, let's go over to see what Bash has found." He suggested, glancing to the side.

"I think he's about to tell you." Drobot said, seemingly focused on something behind Spyro.

This made Spyro slowly turn around to see what Drobot was focused on. When he did, he saw Bash walking back to him, a worried expression on his face.

Seeing his friend so riled up, naturally made Spyro worry. "What's wrong Bash?" He asked. "Did you find Broccoli Guy?"

"Come," Bash said in a hushed tone, as if he wanted not to wake something up. "Quickly." He insisted, glancing between the dragons behind Spyro before turning around and heading back toward the menhir.

Spyro swallowed hard, before looking back at his friends. He glanced between them, noticing there was a widespread unease among them, an unease Spyro himself was beginning to feel. However, mustering his courage, Spyro took a deep breath and waved for his friend's to follow him as he he began following Bash.

As Spyro followed his friend, he walked with his body close to the ground. Whenever Spyro took a step forward or around a large rock, he made sure not to step on the web of delicate frozen streams that spread on the ground beneath him in order to avoid creating loud noises. He also made sure to step steadily, because the moist, semi-frozen grass was slippery and almost made him stumble several times, a problem his companions also shared.

When Spyro glanced behind him o check on his companions, he saw everyone prowling stealthily as they moved closer to the menhir, watching their step and moving low staying behind Spyro.

"Stop!" Bash hissed suddenly as he came to an abrupt stop, hiding behind a sizeable boulder, just big enough for him.

Spyro did as he was told, not moving an inch further until Bash told him. His companions followed suit, all waiting for an explanation.

"Bash?" Spyro asked in a whisper. "What's wrong?" He asked, slowly treading up to his friend.

Bash took a moment to answer, focused on something closer to the menhir. "Look." He whispered, gesturing forth with his chin.

At that, Spyro shifted his gaze form his friend to what it was he was looking at. When he did this, Spyro's stomach dropped and his face went pale.

Near the base of the menhir, were three figures. The first he was able to recognise, was none other than Broccoli Guy. However, the Doom Raider was in a very peculiar situation. He was tied to a stick which was being held up over an open flame by two piles of flat rocks. The stick Broccoli guy was tied to, was being turned slowly, making it seem like the doom raider was being cooked alive. That by itself was disturbing, but it wasn't all Spyro saw, not all that made him start shaking. There were two other figures, both covered by ash-grey cloaks.

One was about Master Eon's size, it was the one tending to cooking Broccoli Guy. It seemed very focused on it's task, dedicated even.

The second figure, was smaller and it seemed to be humming something, like the lyrics of a song. Spyro saw that it was holding what looked like an mp3 player in one hand, the earplugs of which, seemed to be connected to the figure's ears. After paying attention Spyro though he heard the smaller figure mutter something to the rhythm of a song. _"Rammstein, Rammstein!"_ The little figure sang as it played an invisible guitar and shook it's hooded head like a rock star.

"Who are they?" Spyro heard Cynder's voice ask. When Spyro turned his head to his side, he saw his friend there, looking at the seen in front of them. "What are they doing?"

"I don't know," Spyro admitted. "But I don't think they are good news." He said with a tinge of fear, as cold sweat traveled down his temples.

"Guys!" Spyro suddenly heard Broccoli Guy's voice beguin. "Please, we can talk about this." He said, trying to sound persuasive. "Who in their right mind eats broccoli willingly?" He asked.

"Someone who hasn't eaten in a hundred years, _mon ami,_ " The larger figure said, speaking with a strange accent and saying some words Spyro didn't understand. "Believe me, I usually take more pride in my cooking, but your _unseasoned_ corpse will have to do I'm afraid." He said, faint traces of genuine regret in his voice.

"He wants to eat him!?" Cynder hissed, sounding disgusted and horrified.

"I don't like this Spyro," Bash whispered. "This is giving me a really bad feeling." He said.

"You and me both, man," Spyro agreed. "Everyone," Spyro called, gazing back at his friends. "We're getting out of here, _really quietly_." He stressed. "These guys look like really bad news, so we'll report back to the headmasters." He explained.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Zap said as he began to turn around and walk away from the menhir.

"I do believe this is the more reasonable course of action," Drobot stated. "So I do suggest we leave as quickly as we can." He said, also slowly retreating.

Spyro felt a stab of guilt in his heart. Even if he was a villian, he wasn't alright with leaving Broccoli Guy to be eaten by some psychopath. He wasn't sure if leaving even the likes of Broccoli Guy to die was a choice a Skylander should take, even less so if that Skylander was the leading example for trainees. However, one thing he was sure of, was that he had promised his brother, he promised Cyrus not to let the six get hurt. And that was a promise he was planning to keep.

So, with a low sigh and his head low, Spyro began moving to turn around and retreat along with his friends.

But, when Spyro lifted his paw and shifted his weight, to put it back down and take a step, he felt his paw press against a slippery surface. Spyro's eyes went round when his paw slide to the side, over a smooth, extremely slippery surface. The surface of a rock concealed under the grass.

When he lost his balance and began to stumble downward, Spyro could swear he saw the world move in slow motion, he saw the faces of his companions slowly ight up with horror up until the moment he fell to the ground, crashing on his side with a thud and was accompanied by Spyro groaning from the throbbing pain.

There was silence, flattening and complete. No one made a sound, not the dragons, not Broccoli Guy and not the figures, all to let Spyro focus and realize the severity of his mistake.

The purple dragon slowly got back on his feet. He kept his head down, not daring to look at his friend's faces. He then slowly turned around to where the figures were. When he raised his head to look at them, Spyro saw that both of the figures were looking at him and had abandoned their previous activities.

He felt their eyes fixated on him beneath their hooded faces. Spyro let out a cold, shaky breath as a wave of heinous cold washed over him in an instant. He could feel himself shaking, and he could feel a sensation of dread, like nothing he'd ever felt before. Or well… like _one_ thing he'd felt before.

"Ohhhh, heck yeah!" Broccoli Guy shouted, sounding overjoyed. "My oldest, _dearest_ Skylander friend! It's so good to see you again!" He said. "How long has it been since we saw each other? Since that time I _helped you_ get to Omen's lair, right?" He recalled. "I have to tell you, these guys want to eat me, _me_! They want to eat broccoli _willingly_ , which I believe, by itself, states that these guys are a very bad crowd." He rambled. "So, how about you help a brother out, huh?" He asked, giving Spyro a very forced and disturbingly wide smile.

Before Spyro could say anything to the Doom Raider, he saw the larger figure raise one of his arms above it's head. Then, with a sudden movement, the figure brought it's arm down, slamming it against Broccoli Guy with such force, the Doom Raider was broken out of his bondage and sent flying backward to crash against the surface of the menhir where he slid slowly down to thud against the base of the massive rock.

"Krall," The larger figure said, in a calm, modulated voice that to Spyro, sounded like it was muffled by something the figure was wearing. "It appears, we have company." The figure said to it's companion.

"Yessss," The smaller figure, apparently named Krall, hissed in a croaky, grating voice as he took off his ear plugs and hid his mp3 in his cloak. "They look young, no older than seventeen, any of them." He guessed, rather accurately at least regarding Spyro and Cynder.

"It also looks like we have some variety," The larger figure continued, taking a step forward, toward the dragons. "So many diferent flavors." He said maliciously, taking another step forward.

"S-Stop!" Spyro commanded, his heart pounding against his chest. "Stay away!" He yelled, his voice shaky from the horrible cold that was spreading through him and gripped with fear he'd only felt once before.

"Awww," Krall began. "Come on Tarrare, you're scaring the little baby dragon." He said mockingly at Spyro.

"Good!" The larger figure, apparently named Tarrare, exclaimed. "They taste better when they die afraid." He stated.

"Who are you!?" Cynder demanded, shaking as badly as Spyro, but not retreating. "What do you want!?"

At that, the two figures glanced at each other. " _Nous ne nous sommes pas présentés_." Tarrare said in a foreign language.

" _Wie unhöflich von uns_." Krall added in a diferent language.

Afterwards, the two figures turned back toward the dragons and stared at them for a moment. Then, in a sudden motion, Tarrare gripped his ashen cloak by the hood and ripped it off, revealing himself.

He had a strong, muscular build and carried himself with poise. He wore gentlemanly clothes, like a dark brown coat over a white buttoned shirt, white high waisted pants, elegant purple boots, a red bow around his collar and black leather gloves.

However, there were some peculiar details about his attire as well. One thing that called Spyro's attention was the large, circular pendant he carried around his neck. It was black and thick and had the image of bird engraved on its surface. The bird was holding a strange skull in its talons and seemed quite proud about it.

The next thing Spyro noticed was that, Tarrare seemed to be holding in his right hand, a large winch, rolled up with an impressive length of heavy, black chain. Some of the leght of this chain seemed to be tied around his right arm, as if to hold onto him. Despite the winch's great size and probable weight, Tarrare didn't seem to be bothered.

However, what really called Spyro's attention was his face. His skin was green, the very same green as an old friend of his. He also had long, pointy ears and purely white eyes. All this, made Spyro realize instantly that, Tarrare was an elf, the same kind as Stealth Elf.

But now that he was focused on his face, Spyro also noticed something else. Tarrare was wearing a mask. It was a strange mask, dotted with holes and which covered only half of his face, including his mouth and chin. The mask was pressed against his face by leather straps which went around his head, explaining his muffled voice.

The frightening elf also had a head of wild, dark blue hair, that stood on end from his head in uneven tuffs, which reminded Spyro of a cartoon of mad scientist. Also, Spyro noticed something about his eyes. The weren't like Stealth Elf's. Her eyes were bright, a pure stark white that glowed faintly against her skin. Tarrare's eyes were more like a really pale gray that white. They also didn't glow, almost as if the light behind them had been snuffed out. They were also sunken in and had huge eyesacks beneath them.

"I am Tarrare," The elf introduce himself, doing a cordial bow. "All I seek is to have my hunger sated." He said. Spyro noticed his cheeks went up slightly, making him feel like the elf was smiling behind his mask.

"W-Well, at least h-he's polite." Zap said shakily behind Spyro.

"And you?" Spyro asked the second figure. "W-What about you?" He demanded.

At this, almost as if cued, the second figure promptly removed his cloak.

Krall was much more visually disturbing that his companion. The hunchback, imp-like creature had maroon skin, and skinny, skeletal limbs. His hands had long, bony fingers that ended in black claws, crueler and more beast-like than any Spyro had seen before and that looked sharp enough to slice flesh. Krall also had what looked like crumpled lumps of flesh that could have once been limbs, emerging from his back.

The creature was wearing a large feathery collar made of black and red feathers. It was puffed and covered a lot of his body. He was also wearing ragged, medieval slacks, but no shoes. His arms were also covered in grim bracelets, decorated with tiny bones, bits of wood carved into screaming faces and flat pebbles with carvings of sinister sigils. Spyro noticed that Krall was carrying a black pouch, tied around his waist. The pouch had icy blue inscriptions all over it that looked a lot like runes.

But the most disturbing detail about this creature's gettup, was what it was wearing as a hat. It was a skull, a dragon skull.

The skull lacked a jawbone but had its teeth, except for one, and curved horns. The grimm hat prevented Spyro from seeing Krall's face. The eye sockets of the skull however, were mismatching. The left one, had a circular pendant stuffed into it's empty space, crammed into the eye socket like a sort of eyepatch. It was the exact same pendant that hung from Tarrare's neck, engravement an all. The right eye socket though, was empty and cast a shadow over the imp-like creature's face, a shadow that was cut by a sinister yellow eye that glowed through the shadow the skull cast.

"I am Krall!" The creature introduced itself. "And what I want-" He paused, gesturing at the seven dragons. "-Are your teeth." He said simply.

"Our what!?" Whirlwind asked horrified.

"Your teeth." Krall said, completely casually. "Give them to me." He asked, holding out his palm to the dragoness, waiting patiently.

"We aren't giving you anything you creep!" Zap said defensively taking a step back from the creature.

"That's fine, little dragon," Krall said calmly. The creature then reached for something inside his a few moments, out of the small pouch, Krall drew out rusty, black metal pincers which he pointed at Zap. "I can just _take_ what I want." He threatened.

"We won't let you do that!" Drobot stated, trying to sound brave.

"Awwww," Krall began, holding his hands. "The little lizards are friends!" He mocked, taking a more offensive stance.

"Well," Tarrare interjected, holding up his chained winch. " _Ils mourront en amis._ " He said is peculiar language and even though Spyro couldn't understand, he was certain the elf in front of him didn't plan on being friendly.

This suspicion was confirmed when the duo of malevolent enemies began slowly stepping closer and closer to the dragons. This cause all of them to step back defensively, staying away.

"Spyro?" Drobot called, sounding frightened. "What do we do?" He asked.

"We should try retreating," Whirlwind suggested. "We could use the relay badges." She proposed.

"We can't," Spyro said in a down tone. "Using them properly can only take six people back," He explained, remembering each badge could take up to three people. "So one of us would have to stay here, with them." He finished, just as Krall chuckled cruelly to himself.

"Then that settles it," Sunburn began. "I am not leaving anyone behind, so we'll have to fight them." He declared.

"You really want to fight them!?" Zap asked, utterly dumbfounded. "I don't know about you, but I am getting mayor _dragon slayer_ vibes from these guys!" He said, his voice thick with fear.

"Hah! You figured it out!" Krall congratulated, clapping sarcastically at Zap. "Well done little dragon, you have a brain in that big head of yours after all!"

And just like that, Spyro's mind was sent back to the Outskirts, just outside the BattleBrawl Arena, with Vixen Reynald's blade less than an inch above his eye, about to come down. Spyro now knew full well why the cruel, vicious cold he felt back then was crawling back into every inch of his body and why the same potent, irrational fear was clawing at his heart. The enemies in front of him, were taken from the same mold as Vixen.

"Spyro," Cynder called, making him look over to her. "It's your call. What do we do?" She asked, placing a paw on Spyro's shoulder.

At that, Spyro felt a little more focused. He began thinking about what was at steak. It was his friends. His friends lives were at steak, just like they had been last time. And just like last time, even though he was shaking, even though he was sweating cold, even though his heart kept hammering against his chest, Spyro felt exactly as he did back then.

With a deep breath, Spyro called forth every bit of courage he had left and, taking a firm step forward, something that made the two enemies in front of him stop in their tracks, Spyro spoke.

"We're fighting," He said, glaring at the two enemies, his muscles tensing up. "We're beating these monsters." He stated.

"That's the what I like to hear," Bash said as he got into battle pose.

"Are we really doing this!?" Zap asked, desperately. "Aw great, here we go again." He mumbled under his breath.

"Alright, little lizards," Krall said in a very severe tone. "No more talking." He ordered.

"Now the time has come for the hunt to start anew." Tarrare picked up.

Then, Spyro could feel the air get even colder around him as the two enemies spoke in unison, pouring their malice into their words. _"Let the old song be heard again!"_

Then, Spyro saw Krall reach for something inside his pouch. But before Spyro could react to the imp-like creature's next move, he became too concerned with the fact that Tarrare was charging straight at him, with elven speed and heavy winch in hand.

Spyro was about to use his wings to fly out of range of the attack, however, before he could even get himself off the ground, Spyro felt something with the texture and structure of a snowball hit him across the face.

And a second, a single second afterwards, Spyro was unable to move, not an inch. He'd been paralyzed by the impact of what he deduced had been whatever Krall had drawn from his pouch.

And then, now that he was unable to move, Spyro saw Tarrare wind his arm back, only to bring it shooting forward, winch and all, aimed right between his eyes.

And then, everything faded to black.

* * *

Cyrus was carrying Camo as he flew through the air, holding the green dragon by the arms. The indigo dragon had been carrying his brand new friend as he guided him through his fabled shortcut.

Cyrus had little to complain about. Camo was surprisingly light and easy to carry around, and to the little dragon's credit, he was true to his word. It couldn't have been more that ten minutes and Cyrus could already see the massive looking trees of the Forest of Life rearing in the distance.

"Alright!" Camo exclaimed excitedly. "We're almost there!" He cheered.

"We don't have to do this Camo," Cyrus said in a low voice. "I don't need a favorite color." He said, guilt lowering his voice.

"C'mon, dude," Camo began. "Everyone needs a favorite color. It helps them look at life differently, and it says a lot more about them than you'd expect." He explained.

Cyrus didn't say anything else. He remained in silence until they arrived at the Forest of Life. He was thinking, wandering about a lot of things.

He felt very confused about his new friend. He never imagined himself having friends, not to mention ones that would go out of their way to get him a favorite color. However, there was one thing he did know, and that was that he felt grateful, very greatful.

Receiving forgiveness, even if it was just from one person, was one of the most alien sensations Cyrus had felt in his life. All of a sudden, Cyrus felt lighter, he felt like he could breath more evenly, he felt as if part of a great weight had been lifted off him and he felt… better, in a way he really couldn't understand.

"Well, we're here," Camo said, snapping Cyrus back into focus, making him notice they had indeed arrived at the edge of the Forest, cueing him to slowly drop down and let Camo go. "Now we just have to go to the secret isle! I'm sure you'll find your favorite color there!" Camo promised cheerfully as he began running into the forest.

Cyrus began running after him. Cyrus' body felt a bit heavy and he was having a bit of trouble keeping his head high, so catching up to the little green dragon took him a moment. "And where is this _secret isle_?" He asked as the two dragons moved through the forest.

"A little ways north from here," Camo responded, still moving forward. "You'll know when we get there, I promise," He said. "It's a beautiful sight."

Cyrus just sighed and rolled his eyes as a small smile began spreading through his face. The little dragon's enthusiasm was very contagious.

"Well, now that we're on the subject," Cyrus began, suddenly in the spirits for conversation. "What's _your_ favorite color?" He asked.

"Green!" Camo replied instantly and without hesitation. "Now I know that sounds a bit narcissistic, considering, hehe, you know-" He gestured at his grass green body and stretching his healthy green wing. "-But, it's not that at all. I like green because, it the color of the forest, it's the color that the leaves on trees take when summer and spring come, when people are the happiest." He said, smiling warmly as he did.

"Huh," Cyrus began, a little surprised. "That's… really… nice." He tried finding the right words, cursing himself in silence for never being able to find them when they needed to be said.

"Thanks!" Camo said cheerfully, his joy unwavering under Cyrus' terrible attempt at a complement. "But now, we have to focus on finding your favorite color!" He reminded. "We're almost halfway to the isle!" He stated.

"Have you actually been there before?" Cyrus asked, curious.

"Yeah, a couple of times actually!" Camo stated. "This one time, I saw this family of Mountain Drakes that were passing by, sightseeing." He said, recalling the memory fondly. "I was way younger back then, but I remember them being very nice." He finished.

Camo seemed to be really happy about recalling this memory. The little dragons was smiling and looking at the distance, almost as if he was back in the isle already. However, all out of the sudden, Camo's smile faded, replaced by a disturbed expression as the little dragon began shaking and hugging himself, as if a wave of cold had suddenly washed over him.

Cyrus soon felt the same cold wash over him as well. He started getting a bad feeling, a premonition that something terrible was hiding somewhere nearby.

Then, he heard it. A scream, desperate and filled with dread, but it wasn't just a scream, it was a word, a name. Hearing that name, being cried out so desperately, by _that_ voice, made something deep within Cyrus snap, and made his body start moving by itself.

Cyrus took flight and rushed to where he had heard the scream coming from.

"Cyrus!" Camo called, fright and confusion in his voice. "What's wrong!?"

"It's Spyro and the others!" Cyrus cried, slowing down a moment for his friend. "They're in danger!"

At that, Camo's eyes went round and his shaking started getting worse. A shaky, terrified breath escaped him, before he spoke in a voice that made it clear he remembered, the biting cold he and Cyrus were feeling right now.

"Dragon Slayers." Camo whispered hopelessly, gripping his broken wing and hanging his head.

* * *

"Spyro!" Cynder cried as she saw her friend be sent sprawling back, flying through the air and crash down several feet away after being struck by Tarrare.

He had landed, belly down, on his side against a large boulder far behind the dragons of their enemies, and didn't seem to be moving.

"Ahhh, I love the sound and feel of a dragon's neck breaking," Tarrare said with cruel nostalgia. "That wasn't it." He sighed with disappointment.

"Only one breed of dragon have those scales," Krall noted, looking at Spyro's fallen figure. "The boy is a purple dragon Adiaperst! We'll have to deal with him last." He said, snapping his rusty blacksmith pliers menacingly.

"You'll have to get through us first!" Cynder stated, furiously, standing in between the dragon slayers and her fallen friend behind her, resolve and new hatred for the two dragon slayers, hardening her expression.

"She's right!" Sunburn stated, equally determined as he stood by Cynder's side, staring down their enemies. "You will not hurt our friend again, you monster!" He stated.

"We'll just have to see about that won't we?" Krall said maliciously, as he reached for something in his pouch.

Cynder then saw Krall pull out a jar, far too large to be contained in the dragon slayer's pouch. This jar was filled with tiny bones, black feathers and bits of purple goo. If it was disgusting to look at, then the smell that came out of it when Krall smashed the glass container against the ground was worse. It was pungent and intense, and it filled Cynder's nostrils with the smell of decay.

But, from the putrid mess and broken glass, Cynder saw a thick, black smoke rise up, like a gaseous shadow. Krall giggled manically as the shadow grew and grew until it was large pillar of darkness.

Then, from the shadows, something emerged. It stuck it's hand out first, slowly reaching out to be touched by the light that pierced the gray sky. But then, the whole thing came stumbling out, flopping onto the frozen grass.

It was a skeleton. No meat or skin covered it's body, or at least not all of it. Despite its body being humanoid, a bit over half Master Eon's size, the creature's head was that of a bird, a dead bird, with some flesh and feathers still sticking onto the skull. The head was also connected to the body by a thick collar of black feathers, identical to the one Krall was wearing.

"Oh, I think I'm gonna puke." Zap, who was behind Sunburn, said as the bony creature began stepping toward the dragons, it's bones creaking as it did.

"Get me their teeth." Krall ordered simply, taking a few steps back from the dark cloud of smoke his creature had emerged from.

After this, the bony creature, let out a loud, raging shriek, which made Cynder's ears ring. And then, from the dark could behind the creature, another monster, made of bones and a bird's head stumbled out, identical to the first. Then another creature came, and another, and another until there was about a dozen creatures standing, looking at the dragons with their dead, beady eyes.

"I believe our odds just dropped dramatically." Drobot's synthesised voice whispered meekly.

Then, the dozen bone creatures shrieked in unison, pointing their gaping black beaks at the dragons as they did, once again, making Cynder's ears ring. Afterwards, the creatured began running at the dragons, crawling on all four like beasts.

"Everyone!" Cynder called, getting everyone's attention. "Destroy the monsters first, then focus on Krall!" She said, planning to make sure the imp-like creature didn't make any more friends.

"Alright!" Everyone said in unison, filling Cynder with a burst of hope.

As Cynder saw the creatures approach her, she stood her ground, getting ready to call forth her lightning. She closed her eyes to focus, and then, when she felt the energy flow through her, she opened her eyes, and from her mouth a stream of blue lightning shot out.

But her attack wasn't alone, it was accompanied, by a pair of laser beams, a current of yellow electricity, a stream of white flames, a miniature rainbow and even by a massive brown wrecking ball.

All of Cynder's friends attacked at once. Their attacks colliding with the unfortunate creatures in the front lines and knocking back the ones behind. As the volley of attacks crashed against the bone creatures, they crumbled into bone meal, letting out a mix of sounds like bones breaking and birds squawking as they fell.

Just like that, Cynder and her companions had taken down half the dozen creatures. However, the second half didn't seem to be frightened. They quickly stood up and attacked again.

One of them seemed to target Cynde and lunged at her, aiming to impale her with it's sharp beak. However, Cynder focused and turned into a shadowy outline of herself. When the bone creature passed through her, stumbling to the ground afterwards, Cynder quickly turned around and resolidified.

She then released a stream of blue lightning at the bone creature, hitting it in the back of it's exposed ribcage, causing it to crumble and turn to a pile of useless bones.

Cynder the turned around to see Bash swinging his spiked tail at one of the creatures, sending it sprawling through the air. Once the creature was up there, Cynder saw Drobot fire a pair of orange laser beams at it, turning into a cloud of white dust.

She also saw Zap slide out of the lunge of another one of the creatures, spraying it with a stream of yellow lightning, which disoriented it enough to let Whirlwind come in and fire a rainbow beam right at its head, which caused the whole creature to turn to dust.

Then, Cynder saw Sunburn stay still as two creatures approached him. Just as the monsters leaped up in the air, about to fall on top of the red dragon, he let out an intense stream of white and yellow flames. He moved his head, and seared both creatures' heard off mid air, turning them into dust as well.

The last remaining creature, was destroyed when Drobot released a small swarm of homing metal gears, which slammed against the creature's body with great force. After this, the creature fell limp on the ground and stayed there, slowly dissolving into dust.

Cynder had her hopes bolstered. Despite the fact Spyro had been knocked out, they had won the first round. No one had gotten hurt and everyone seemed to be ready for more. The dragons took a defensive stance as the dragon slayers stayed in silence, looking at them.

"Is that all you've got?" Cynder asked daringly, smirking at her enemies.

Tarrare and Krall stayed quiet. Looking at Cynder and her companions with analytical faces. Tarrare had his arms crossed over his chest, while Krall seemed to be holding his chin beneath his grim hat.

Cynder then noticed Tarrare leaned a bit towards Krall, as if to say something to him. _"Qu'est-ce que tu penses?"_ He asked in his foreign language.

" _Nun, sie sind offensichtlich geschult."_ Krall spoke in his own language. _"Aber sie scheinen größtenteils unkoordiniert zu sein."_ He continued. _"Wenn wir also einige von ihnen töten, sollte der rest auseinanderfallen."_ He finished.

Afterwards, Tarrare nodded in understanding, now looking at the dragons. _"Lequel devons-nous tuer en premier?"_ He asked, gesturing at them with his chin.

"Hmmm," Krall hummed, scratching his chin beneath his skull helmet shadow. _"Die rote eidechse."_ He said in his foreign language. Then, the imp-like creature began giggling to himself and then turned to face his friend. _"Ich habe gerade realisiert."_ He paused. _"Sie können uns nicht verstehen."_ He said with a snicker as he pointed at the dragons with his thumb.

" _Vraiment?"_ Tarrare exclaimed. The evil elf then turned over to Zap, pointed at him accusingly and said: _"Ta maman est si grosse qu'elle met du rouge à lèvres avec un rouleau à peinture!"_ With the most degrading tone posible.

Zap looked undignified, but it seemed that, just like Cynder, he had no idea what their enemies had just said. "What did you say?" Zap demanded. "What did you say!?" He repeated, sounded angrier.

However, the only response he got from the two dragon slayers was wheezing, roaring laughter. The duo of villains were bending over from laughter. Krall was outright rolling on the grass, wheezing while Tarrare was wiping away tears of laughter form his eyes. All this, while Zap growled with frustration.

"What's so funny!?" The blue dragon roared.

"Zap, calm down." Bash said in a severe tone, stretching an arm in front of the blue dragon, preventing him from doing something stupid.

 _"Oh, oho, mein kleiner bauch!"_ Krall wheezed finally getting on his feet once again. "Thank you little dragon, for making us laugh!" He said gratefully, letting out another snicker afterwards.

"We haven't had such a laugh in over a hundred years!" Tarrare added after one last, small chuckle. "We'll be sure to kill you last." He said in a kind tone.

"You aren't killing anyone!" Cynder stated adamantly. "We're putting an end to you!" She declared.

"Alright, alright." Krall said raising his clawed hands. "We should probably take you lizards a little seriously." He said with a sigh.

"Yes, we should." Tarrare agreed, as he let go of his winch. The large metal chain unrolled a bit, still hanging onto Tarrare's arm, like an arm-mounted flail. "Come now little lizards," Tarrare began, slowly walking toward the dragons, a deranged look in his dead eyes, the air colder around him. "Time to tenderize the meat!" He roared.

Then, Tarrare began rushing at Sunburn, his rolled up winch dragging behind him. He then swung the chain over his head, and brought it down, aimed at Sunburn's head.

At the heavy black winch came down, Sunburn rolled to the side, avoiding the attack as it collided with the ground in a violent impact. However, Tarrare quickly pulled back his winch, unrelentingly approaching Sunburn and ready to swing again.

"Stay back!" Drobot commanded as he stepped in between Sunburn and Tarrare, firing his laser beams at the elf.

Tarrare, simply leaned out of the way, causally avoiding the attack. When the evil elf stood staring once again, he grabbed his winch closer to the base and swung it at Drobot. This attack had shorter range, but was much faster that the last. Drobot had less than a second to react, which to Cynder's dread, wasn't enough.

She saw as the copprey dragon's armored head was struck with the mass of black chains, swung by Tarrare. Cynder managed to see the blue metal crumple, the bright yellow spotlights that served for eyes shater and go dark. Drobot then felt to the side, knocked out in a single blow.

"Drobot!" Sunburn cried, guilt and dread in his voice.

Tarrare didn't stop with Drobot however. Using the new new grip on his weapon and Sunburn's distracted state, the elf swung his heavy winch at Sunburn once again.

However, before the attack could land, Tarrare was tacked by a brown boulder, causing his attack to lose momentum.

Cynder saw Bash tackle Tarrare and drive him back, burying his head in the elf's chest and pushing, causing the elf to lift dirt as he tried to stop Bash's advance. And to Cynder's dread he succeeded.

The elf grabed Bash by the horns on the sides of his head and then flung himself upward. It toom Bash a moment to realize Tarrare was now standing on his back, standing tall. There, Tarrare used some of the leght of his chain and tied it around Bash's tail. Then, the dragon slayer pulled the tail upwards, bending it in an angle that didn't look natural.

Bash was then brought to his knees, pressed against the ground and groaning loudly, as if in pain.

"Hey!" Whirlwind shouted as she began charging for Bash. "Don't hurt him!"

However, before she could reach the brown dragon, Whirlwind was struck with a bola, which hit her legs, tying them together and causing her to trim roughly on the ground.

This caused Cynder to turn around, to where the bola had come from. There she saw Krall, with his arm stretched out, as if he'd just thrown something. "Oh let him have his fun." The imp began. "You have _me_ to play with!" He said, reaching for something in his seemingly magical pouch.

"Mountain Drakes are all armour!" Tarrare shouted, causing Cynder to turn around again and focus on Bash. She saw as Tarrare tugged Bash's tail, causing the dragon to let out a pained yelp. "You have to attack their weak points! Like for example." He said, pausing for a moment.

Then, Cynder's eyes went round from horrir when she saw Tarrare jank Bash's tail backwards, causing a fleshy crack, to sound as Bash let out a hideous scream of agony. However, Tarrare didn't stop there. The dragon slayer quickly untied his winch from Bash's tail. Then, he leaped into the air, his winch behind him and as he was coming down, he slammed his weapon down Bash's head in a sonorous blow.

"Bash!" Cynder cried in despair as she saw her friend stay down, even after Tarrare pulled his winch off his head.

Tarrare then looked down at Whirlwind, who was still down, struggling with her tied limbs. He then turned to Krall and spoke. _"Merci, mon ami."_

" _Gern geschehen."_ Krall replied with a little bow.

Cynder then furrowed her brow. She wasn't going to let this happen. She took flight and rushed straight at Tarrare a furious glare on her eyes.

In response to this, the elf changed his grip on his winch's chain, letting more lenght hang slack. So, when the elf began swinging his weapon overhead, it's arc had more reach. So when Cynder came close enough, Tarrare flicked his wrist and the heavy winch fell down, about to crush Cynder.

However, the dragoness simply turned into black mist and kept going. The attack phased straight through her, landing loudly behind her. After this, Cynder resolidified and took a deep breath. Afterwards, she released a huge torrent of spectral lightning at Tarrare, which knocked the dragon slayed backwards and made him groan loudly.

"Guys!" Cynder called. "Light him up!" She shouted, pointing at Tarrare.

"Right!" Zap and Sunburn said, rushing over to the still disoriented Tarrare.

Cynder meanwhile went down to help Whirlwind. The violet dragoness used her sharp claws to cut the bola's strings and set her friend free.

"Thank you." Whirlwind whispered as Cynder helped her up.

"Don't mention it." Cynder replied. "Cuz we have to keep an eye on _him_." She said laughingly.

It took Whirlwind second to catch on, but after the second passed, she looked over to where Cynder was looking and realized what she meant.

Krall was standing, blacksmith pliers in hand, looking calmly at the two dragons. "Oh no," He began. "Tarrare does the fighting. I'm more of a _support_ person." He said pointing at himself.

"Then beating you should be easy." Cynder said, not willing to give this monster any mercy.

"Aw well, if you put it _that_ way." Krall said as he reached for yet something else in his pouch.

Cynder saw the imp-like creature pull out what looked like a totem. A piece of carved and painted wood, large enough for the imp to hold it in one hand, made into the shape of a monstrous black crow. Then, Krall set the totem down in front of him, held out a palm at the figure and closed his glowing yellow eye

Cynder heard the imp mutter something she couldn't understand, and that sounded diferent than the strange language he was speaking before. And then, from the little totem, a bubble of purple energy began to spread. It spread over Krall, leaving him inside the radius of a purple bubble, wide enough let him strech out his arms.

"You're welcome to try to get me." Krall invited as he sat down and looked at Cynder with the smug expression of someone who knew they were perfectly safe.

The dragon slayer's smugness angered Cynder, more than she thought it would. However, she was snapped into focus when Whirlwind called her name.

"Cynder!" She cried, turning her away from Krall. "Zap and Sunburn, they need us!" She stated in a distressed tone and with a matching expression.

At that, Cynder turned back to where she had last seen her other friends. She saw Sunburn and Zap were flying above Tarrae, who was spinning his winch above his head like a lasso, trying to swat the two dragons out of the air. And although her friends had stayed out of danger so far, they were starting to look tired.

Whenever one of the two dragons tried getting closer down to Tarrare, they risked getting caught by the dragon slayers chain.

"Forget this!" Sunburn shouted in rage.

Cynder then saw the red dragon disappear in a flash of fiery light, meaning he would appear soon in a more advantageous position. And a moment afterwards, another blast of fire came, this time behind Terrare. Afterwards, Cynder saw Sunburn tackle the dragon slayer, making him stumble forward and his winch to lose momentum, crashing to the ground.

"Get off, lizard!" Tarrare ordered, reaching for his back, effectively grabbing Sunburn by the scruff of the neck, throwing him off his back and onto the ground.

There, Tarrare clutched the red dragon's neck tightly, in a way that kept his mouth shut, preventing him from breathing his flames to get himself free.

Tarrare then twisted a length of chain around his other hand, creating a large, makeshift gauntlet. Then, the dragon slayer was then about to slam his weighted fist on Sunburn's head, but he was compelled to stop when Zap dove down and crashed his full weight on top of the dragon slayer.

"Leave my friends alone!" Zap shouted. "Ladies!" He called as he tried distracting Tarrare. "A little help!?" He asked gesturing at the dragon slayer.

Cynder said nothing, she just flew over to the dragon slayer and, with Whirlwind at her side, release her attack.

When she did this, Cynder saw as Whirlwind fired her rainbow beam and Zap jumped up while he released his own lightning at the dragon slayer. When the three attacks connected, they created a powerful blast of energy that sent the dragon slayer sprawling back, off Sunburn and away from the others.

This let Cynder reach her friends and speak. "Are you guys alright!?" Cynder asked as she regrouped with her friends.

"We will be," Sunburn said, coughinging as he tried getting on his feet. "But, we still have a problem to deal with." He said grimly, looking over to where Cynder and the others had sent Tarrare.

"For the love of the Ancients!" Zap exclaimed in distress. "Why doesn't that guy stay down!?"

"I would like to know too, Zap," Cynder said dryly as she saw Tarrare, already on his feet, brushing some dirt off his shoulders, dragging his winch behind him, ready for the next round.

However, Cynder noticed that the dragon slayer was fiddling with his mask, seemingly tightening the straps to keep it on. "Krall," He called his friend's name. _"Je pense que nous les avons sous-estimés."_ He said in his language.

 _"Ja,"_ Krall said, still inside his little bubble. _"Es scheint, wir haben."_ He added, nodding simply. _"Soll ich dir helfen?"_ He said in a way that made Cynder understand it was a question.

" _Une aide serait appréciée."_ Tarrare replied, moving his shoulder as if it were sore.

After this, Cynder saw Krall pick up his little totem and place it in his pouch. Afterwards, the purple bubble around him disappeared and the imp began crawling toward the dragons.

Krall then stood still as pulled something out of his pouch. It was something that looked like a little black marble. The red imp then threw the marble at his feet and after a popping sound, a cloud of smoke emerged, enveloping the dragon slayer.

When the cloud dispersed, Cynder was put on edge when Krall was no longer there. He had vanished.

"Cynder?" Sunburn called from behind her, making her turn around.

Once she did, Cynder was admittedly surprised by the sight. Krall was now hanggin off Tarrare's back, hanging onto him though an arm hold around his neck, still holding his blacksmith pliers in one hand.

Cynder found this rather peculiar but her curiosity quickly turned to disgust when the little imp began groaning loudly and twitching awkwardly. Cynder then watched as the two malformed lumps of Krall's back started to writhe, creating gut-churning, fleshy, cracking sounds, only to extend into two new, gangly arms, coming out of his back.

"Alright, my friend." Krall began, cracking his brand new set of knuckles. "What do you say we finish these lizards like the old days?" He said, offering a fist bump to Tarrare.

Tarrare then used one hand to pick up his winch, and the other to bump his friend's fist, glaring disturbingly at the dragons, sending chills down Cynder's spine and rooting a bad feeling deep in her conscience.

Cynder then saw Krall use his new arms to dig around his pouch in preparation for the incoming fight. The imp pulled out little blue marble with one hand and with the other, a fistfull of dark red dust, holding both at the ready.

"Alright," Cynder began trying to come up with a plan. "We should try to-"

"Watch out!" Whirlwind screamed, interrupting Cynder.

Thanks to her friend's warning, Cynder had enough time to turn into dark mist and avoid the incoming attack. She saw as Whirlwind and Zap ducked while Sunburn flew out of the path of a massive, arching attack from Tarrare's winch.

The elvish dragon slayer was already swinging his weapon like a lasso once again and already bringing it back around. This time however, it was aimed directly at Zap. As the winch came down, Zap used his slime to slide out of the way, dodging to the side.

However, he didn't stop there. Already speeding thanks to his slime, Zap began rushing at Tarrare and Krall. "Guys! Cover me!" He said as he approached, ready to release his attack.

However, when Zap got within range to attack, Krall reacted by throwing the fistfull of red dust at the blue dragon. It must have been more than a smoke screen, because when Zap entered the red dust cloud, he stopped in his tracks and began coughing roughly, gripping his throat tightly.

This however, only bought enough time for Tarrare to winde his fist around a length of his chain, once again creating his makeshift gauntlet. Then, Tarrare threw a mighty corkscrew punch at Zap, which connected with the dragon's head sending him sprawling back, where he landed on his back, unmoving.

"Zap, no!" Sunburn cried at the sight of his fallen friend.

After this, Sunburn growled and began diving toward the two dragon slayers. He looked like he took a deep breath and was about to release his attack on them. After seeing this, Cynder decided to help, she began charging at the dragon slayers as well, ready to release her own attack. However, when Cynder was about to release her attack, she saw Krall fling his little blue marble at her. The imp's throw was surprisingly fast, and made it so that Cynder was unable to turn intangible in time.

She felt something like a small snowball hit her near the cheek and then, she lost control of her body. She couldn't even put her paws up to cushion her rough landing. Cynder felt the cold, freezing ground rise up to meet her, leaving a painful throbbing sensation in the right side of her face.

Once in the ground, Cynder couldn't move, not even an inch. All her muscles refused to do what she told them. And so, Cynder was helpless to anything but watch as Sunburn tried diving down at the two dragon slayers.

Meanwhile, Whirlwind began firing her her rainbow beams at the dragon slayers, in an attempt to distract them from Sunburn. However after her first attacks landed, not only did they do little but make Tarrare let out annoyed groans, the cued Krall to dig for something in his pouch.

The dragon slayer then pulled out what looked like a bright blue stone. It was smooth and about twice the size of a fist. Krall then held up this strange stone above his head and waited.

Undeterred, Whirlwind continued attacking, firing another volley of her beams at Tarrare. However, as Whirlwind's attack traveled through the air, aimed at the dragon slayer, they suddenly changed trajectory, moving upwards.

Cynder then realized that Whirlwind's attacks were being pulled into the blue stone Krall had in his hand. She saw as Whirlwind's rainbows shrunk and were absorbed into the blue rock, leaving both dragon slayer's intact. Also, a blue glow began emanating from the blue stone, something that caught Cynder's attention.

This seemed to rile Whirlwind up. Out of desperation or lack of understanding, the dragoness fired another volley of attacks However, just like the last ones, they were absorbed into the blue stone, which now glowed brightly and intensely, which made Cynder worry greatly.

Her fears were confirmed, when she saw Krall wind up his arm before throwing the glowing blue stone at Whirlwind. Much like Cynder herself, the cyan dragoness was unable to predict the incoming attack.

When the blue rock hit the ground at Whirlwind's feet, it exploded, in a brilliant blast of colors, the same colors on Whirlwind's rainbow beams. The blast was powerful enough to send Whirlwind up into the air, only for her to crash down on her back. After crashing back down, the cyan dragoness remained motionless.

Cynder couldn't even call her friend's name, she couldn't even get the peace of mind that she could have survived. However, Cynder's attention was ripped away from Whirlwind and focused on Sunburn and the dragon slayers.

Tarrare was swinging his winch and chain at Sunburn with unrelenting drive, changing the height of the swing every time it came around, causing Sunburn to change his trajectory. Sunburn had to dive and rise out of the incoming chain swings, a task he succeeded at with great effort. However, the red dragon couldn't get in close enough to actually harm the dragon slayers, for the swing of the winch sped up and became harder to predict as he closed in.

This evidently frustrated Sunburn, who growled with tangible stress, even as he avoided the incoming attacks.

" _Junge, er ist dabei zu tun!"_ Krall shouted warningly.

" _Je connais."_ Tarrare said calmly, his expression showing cool Cynder had only seen on Stealth Elf. _"les téléporteurs sont si prévisibles."_ He added with a smug scoff.

Cynder then saw Sunburn disappear in a blast of fire and light, just a swing of Tarrare's chain was about to hit him. But, after this, Tarrare allowed for his winch to lose momentum and drop, chain and all. The elf then quickly turned around and positioned himself with his arm stretched out, as if he was about to catch something.

To Cynder's dread, the dragon slayers preemptive movement had been spot on. She saw as a blast of orange flames appeared in front of Tarrare, something that didn't seem to bother the elf in the slightest, since he kept his posture and hand stretched out.

When the flash of flames dispersed, the blood on Cynder's face drained and dread clawed at her being. She saw Sunburn, caught in Tarrare's hand, squirming and struggling desperately.

"Krall?" Tarrare called in his modulated voice. "If you would." He said patiently.

"Of course!" Krall replied energetically.

At that, Cynder saw, Krall use his new arms to carefully replace Tarrare's hold on Sunburn's neck. The dragon slayers squeezed the red dragon in such a way he couldn't use his flames to defend himself and as such gave both villains plenty of time to handle their exchange.

By the time the two were finished, Krall was holding Sunburn in front of Tarrare, suspending him in the air, like a punching bag.

"Alright," Krall started. "At three?" He asked his friend.

"At three." Tarrare confirmed.

Then, Cynder watched Tarrare start to loosen his arms and take deep breaths.

" _Ein… Zwei…"_ Krall began his count, dread growing in Cynder's heart with every passing number. She managed to close her eyes shut, when Krall shouted. _"Drei!"_

Cynder then heard a blow land. A powerful punch hit flesh, followed by a breathless gasp of air and after a few moments, by the low thud of something hitting the ground. Cynder opened her eyes slowly to see Sunburn, laid down on the ground, motionless.

"Ahhhh, that was very entertaining!" Krall sighed as he let go of his friend and fell back onto the ground. "Nothing like a good hunt!" He cheered as he began walking over to Sunburn's body.

Tarrare meanwhile, began walking away from his friend, toward Bash, dragging his winch and chain behind him.

Krall on the other hand, started running his hands, all four of them, over Sunburn's unconscious body. "Still warm," He muttered. "Still alive," He added. "Oh well, half breed or not," He said, confusing Cynder with what he meant by _half breed._ "These are still valuable," He stated in a merry tone as he plucked four feathers off Sunburns body, stuffing them in his pouch. "And useful!" He added, selecting and plucking four more feathers and putting them away as well.

Cynder watched in disgust and horror as the dragon slayer repeated the process three more times, taking more and more feathers. After Krall was satisfied, he let out a pleased sigh and then began scanning the area.

His gaze, fell on Cynder, causing her to shudder and try once again to move. However, even now, her muscles were paralyzed and she couldn't even wiggle away from Krall as the four-armed imp walked over to her.

Cynder shuddered and and closed her eyes as she felt Krall flip her on her back. She then slowly opened her eyes and saw that Krall was looking down at her, his glowing yellow eye fixed on her own.

"You know," Krall began. "I actually have something, a project you could say." He said, gripping his blacksmith pliers tightly. "It consists of making this necklace, as a gift for a dear friend of mine." He explained. "She would love this kind of thing, because see, the necklace I want to make is no ordinary trinket." He said, pointing at Cynder with a sharp claw.

"It's a necklace made of dragon teeth," Krall said proudly, his glowing eye curling up, indicating he was smiling under his skull hat, as if the words he had just said were devoid of any grizzly meaning or disturbing suggestion. "I planned on making it from eight teeth, one for each element a dragon can harness!" He explained. "And it just so happens, little lizard-" He continued, speaking in a darker tone as he began pointing his pliers at Cynder's face. "-I'm missing the tooth of an Undead dragon," He stated. "Thank you for volunteering!" He added cheerfully.

Cynder then felt her heart start to race, pounding frantically against her chest because it knew, just as well as her, what was about to happen. She tried screaming, calling for help, but the only sound that came out of her mouth were garbled groans.

Cynder then felt Krall grab her jaw with one of his hands and her sout with another, pulling her mouth open while leaving two hands left to operate his pliers, which he was clicking with cruel anticipation.

Cynder tried squirming, tried calling for help, tried everything. But her body didn't listen, not even when she felt Krall use one of his hands to pull her jaw down and another to pull her snout up, leaving her mouth wide open as well as leaving Krall with two hands to operate his pliers.

"Say, _ahhh!_ " Krall hissed maliciously as he began placing his open pliers inside Cynder's mouth.

The dragones started tearing up when she felt the cold, rust metal close around one of the grinders in the back of her mouth. She could feel the tears streaming down the sides of her head freeze in the cold, cruel presence of the dragon slayer looming over her.

Then, Cynder began feeling pressure, a powerful pull against her jaw. Then, after a strained groan and a sudden jerk of the pliers, Cynder felt a massive discharge of pain erupt, all the while the heavy, metallic taste of iron filled her mouth and a sharp ringing resonate in her ears. Her agonized scream was muffled by her numbed body, failing to make justice to the pulsing pain she was feeling.

Meanwhile in Krall pulled his arms back, with his prize between the black pincers. "Ahhh, there," The red imp said in a pleased tone as he gazed at Cynder's tooth. "That wasn't _soooo_ bad, was it?" He asked with a cruel mirth. "Now-" He picked up, dropping the tooth into his pouch. "-I really just need _one_ tooth for my necklace. But…" He added, raising a hand at Cynder. "You have really pretty teeth, little lizard." He said, tracing his black claws over Cynder's fangs.

Cynder felt her eyes start watering again when Krall began clicking his pliers again. "You wouldn't mind if took some more would you?" He asked with a casual lack of empathy. "To remember you by." He said in an attempt to justify his cruelty.

Cynder tried one last desperate attempt at moving, at trying to escape to no avail, her body would just not move despite how much pain and fear she was feeling. In desperation her mind started rushing through her memories. She had remembered Spyro being extremely afraid of these monsters, but she hadn't really understood until now.

These villains were diferent to the ones she was used to. They weren't like the Greebles that tried stealing toys every now and then, they weren't like the Doom Raiders, who just spread chaos for the fun of it.

These, horrible creatures wanted to hurt _her_ , they hated _her_. It felt personal, and the morbid simplicity of their motivation, made them all the more terrifying. This fear she was feeling right now, the one these dragon slayers were making her feel, like a bitting, chilling weight that made her heart pound and her skin crawl, was primal, raw. An instinct she didn't know she had, but that had not lost any of its power.

When Cynder saw Krall beguin lowering his pliers at her mouth once again, the violet dragoness closed her eyes and braced for the worst, trying and failing to stay her terrible fear.

"Krall!" Tarrare's voice suddenly shouted making the imp freeze for a second.

"Yessss?" Krall asked, sounding a little annoyed he couldn't rip Cynder's other teeth out yet.

Cynder then looked to her left, over to where Tarrare's voice was coming from. There, she saw the elven dragon slayer standing at the side of Bash's unconscious body. The two were standing rather close to the edge of the isle, only a short walk away from the drop, something that made Cynder very uneasy.

"Where are my knife and spices?" Tarrare asked his friend. "You know how hard Mountain Drakes are to cook." He said, kicking Bash degradingly in the gut.

"Hmmm… they do taste like gravel without your special seasoning," Krall said, scratching his concealed chin. "Let me get them for you." He said, reaching for his pouch once again.

From the little black bag, Krall pulled out a long curved knife, which ended in a curved tip and another, larger bag. This one was colored brown and neatly tied shut with a simple thin rope. It also smelled heavily of spices.

"Here!" Krall shouted as he tossed the two items to his friend.

Tarrare then caught each item in one hand and proceeded to thank his friend in a language Cynder couldn't understand. She then saw as Tarrare began to knee down near Bash, holding his knife tightly with both hands.

All the blood on Cynder's face thinned out, when she saw Tarrare start pressing the knife against Bash's flank, searching for a weak spot in between his scales. Cynder could do nothing but pray for something to happen to stop Tarrare from finding that weak spot.

"Hey!" A familiar voice called. "Leave him alone!" It commanded, making Tarrare obey, if only to see who the voice belonged to.

Both, Cynder and Krall were surprised to see none other than Whirlwind pounce on Tarrare, who for his part, let out a frightened yelp as he raised his arms in an attempt to defend himself.

Cynder then saw Whirlwind take flight and fire a beam of multicolored energy down at Tarrare, who kept one of his arms up in a defensive stance as he reached for his winch with the other. When the dragon slayer got a grip of his winch's chain, he pulled on it violently, sending the rolled up mass of metal flying upwards at Whirlwind.

The cyan dragoness soared out of the way of the incoming attack and began circling around Tarrare before diving down and firing another rainbow beam from her horn. This caused the dragon slayer to groan loudly and swing his winch again an attack Whirlwind dodged by diving rapidly.

" _Mon dieu!"_ Tarrare exclaimed in frustration. "Can you please stand still!?" He demanded as he swung his chain once again, which to his frustration, was once again dodged.

After that, Tarrare, let his winch and chain go limp and drop down, where he wound it all up, almost as if he'd put his weapon down and given up. However, Cynder noticed the dragon slayer was narrowing his eyes, keeping them very fixed on Whirlwind. She deduced he was thinking, thinking of the best way to handle Whirlwind.

Then, Tarrare looked down at his hand, where he was holding his knife. He then lifted his head and looked at Whirlwind, who was already coming down for another attack against the dragon slayer.

Tarrare looked down at his knife once again. He then shrugged in a bored manner, only to change his grip on the knife, now pinching the tip of the blade with his thumb and the side of his index finger. Then, Tarrare pulled his knife arm back behind his head while he raised his right arm in front of him, holding his thumb up while he held one of his eyes closed.

Cynder then realized what Tarrare was about to do. She tried crying out to warn Whirlwind, only to to force out tears of frustration when her voice would just not power through her paralysis.

And so, Cynder was powerless to warn Whirlwind in time. She had to watch as the cyan dragoness dove down to get in range to fire another rainbow beam at Tarrare, who in response to this, threw his left arm forward, sending hit knife through the air, straight at Whirlwind.

The blade buried itself deep in Whirlwind's left wing, causing the dragoness to cry out in pain and plummet down, losing control of her flight. But, if only to make things worse, Whirlwind fell right into Tarrare's hands.

The elven dragon slayer caught the cyan dragoness and held her in the air, gripping her by the neck. She struggled faintly, leaving her left wing hanging limp. Tarrare quickly noticed this and proceeded to grip his knife's handle, removing it with a quick, clean motion that caused Whirlwind to exclaim in pain a second time. She hung her head low after this, drained from the pain of her injury.

Tarrare then scoffed. "There really is nothing quite as poetic-" He paused, gazing at the edge of the isle, before looking back at Whirlwind, malevolent intent in his eyes. "-As watching a creature of the Sky-" He paused again, slamming his winch on the ground, burreing it partly before walking to the edge of the isle, taking Whirlwind with him. "- _Fall_ to their death." He finished with a cruel chuckle as he stretched his arm out and held Whirlwind out over the edge of the isle, about to drop her into the void beneath.

Tarrare then let go of Whirlwind's wing and Cynder watched as the cyan dragoness began to fall to the emptiness below.

But then, Cynder saw something that made the air leave her chest. She saw Whirlwind be caught mid air and brought back to the isle, by a purple dragon.

" _Spyro!?"_ Cynder instantly thought of her friend.

However, she was led to think again when Tarrare spoke in a surprised tone. "Another one!?" He exclaimed as he took a couple of steps back.

That's when it hit her. The dragon Cynder was looking at right now, was Cyrus.

After gently laying down Whirlwind beside Bash, the indigo dragon moved quickly, leaving only seconds for Cynder to understand what he was doing.

Cyrus pounced on Tarrare, taking the dragon slayer by surprise and clutching onto his shoulders, making him stumble backwards. Before Tarrare could react properly, Cyrus took a ravenous bite at the dragon slayer's neck, causing Tarrare to let out a long, strained groan as he violently shoved Cyrus off his chest.

Tarrare, then leaned forward, gripping the right side of his neck tightly, trying to stop a thick, black, tar-like substance from pouring out of the gruesome bite wound. After Cyrus landed, a few feet away from Tarrare, Cynder noticed he was shaking and that his green eyes were fixed on the elven dragon slayer, glaring at him with venomous hate.

"Oh great!" Krall exclaimed in annoyance. "Now we have _that_ to deal with." He groaned, getting on his feet and turning over to Cyrus, already reaching for something in his pouch.

However, before the maroon imp could pull his hand out, he was tackled, pounced on by a large purple figure. Cynder saw him for a second, before he knocked Krall out of her field of vision, but, she felt a faint hope flicker within her when she did.

* * *

Spyro was shaking, tense and breathing hard. His blood was boiling, he never remembered feeling as furious at anyone as with the maroon creature he had pinned against the ground.

"If you _ever_ ," Spyro began, growling each word, letting his anger flow into them. "Lay a _finger_ on her," He paused, clenching his fists around Krall's shoulders so hard he was sure he could feel the joints pop. "Or _any_ one of them _ever_ again, I swear I'll-"

"You'll what, _lizard_?" Krall asked in an almost bored tone, looking up at Spyro with a half-open yellow eye, apparently unfazed by his breaking shoulders. "You'll, _kill_ me?" He said in a mocking tone, adding a small chuckle afterwards. "I'd like to see you try. Because, believe me-" He said, narrowing his eye and speaking in a dangerous tone. "It's going to be harder than you realize."

At that, Spyro saw Krall lift a hand, one of the ones that were coming out of his back. Ih this hand, Spyro saw a small, pitch black marble. Krall then squeezed his hand tightly and followed by small popping sound, a large cloud of smoke began rolling out of Krall's hand, enveloping the dragon slayer.

After Krall was completely covered in the greyish mist, Spyro felt him vanish, slipping straight through his paws. Spyro then began looking around, panning his head through the island in search for the two dragon slayers. He found them both a few meters away after glancing to his left.

Spyro saw Krall mounted on Tarrare's back, holding onto him with an armlock around the neck. The imp the handed his friend a potion, filled with bright red liquid. Tarrare then quickly uncorked the potion and drank its contents. When the elven dragon slayer was finished, he let out a pleasing sigh and threw the empty vile away, thanking his friend in his foreign language.

Spyro then noticed the flow of black goo that was running out of a bite wound on Tarrare's neck, began to disperse. The whole wound vanished completely in a couple of seconds, making Spyro deduce the dragon slayer had used a healing potion.

The duo of dragon slayers then composed themselves. They were standing a few meters away from Cyrus, who had his wings stretched out defensively, trying to serve as a line of defence for Whirlwind and Bash, who were laying still behind him.

Spyro didn't plan on letting them hurt his brother. So, without wasting time, Spyro started running, sprinting straight at the duo of villains. He felt a raging heat flow through his whole body as he ran, pushing him to move faster.

As he got closer to the dragon slayers, Spyro lowered his head and bright orange flames began blazing on them, leaving behind a trail of flaming sparks behind Spyro.

When he was just within reach, Spyro tensed his legs for second and leapt into the air. Spyro then felt his head crash into Tarrare's body, helt all that heat he had built up discharge directly onto the dragon slayer. He felt the evil elf's body be shoot away from the force of the impact.

Spyro then felt himself land on his feet and proceed to lift his head. He looked up just in time to see Tarrare and Krall fall of the edge of the island, screaming a quickly fading scream.

Spyro was just about to feel relief and take a moment to greet his brother, until he heard a ringing sound, like a metal chain suddenly being tensed up to its limit.

Then, Spyro turned over to his right, and realized that Tarrare's which was still buried on the dirt, it's chain indeed tensed up and stretching over the edge of the isle, out to the void where Spyro had hoped the dragon slayers had fallen into. Then, to his dread, Spyro started hearing a metallic jingle, quickly paced and consistent. After only seconds, Spyro saw Tarrare slam his body back onto the isle, Krall still on his back.

Spyro was about to attack the prone enemies, however, he saw someone get to it before he could. He saw Cyrus step forward and take a deep breath, causing the gashes on his chest to glow a poisonous green. Then, Cyrus fired a bolt of green and black flames at the dragon slayers, who were still not even on their feet.

The dragon slayers reacted in time to avoid Cyrus' attack. Krall jumped off Tarrare's back, while the elven dragon slayer dashed to his left, causing the green firebolt to crash against the ground, burning a hole right through, bur missing it's mark.

"Alright," Krall began. "An Infernus-" He said, looking over to Cyrus. "-And an Adiaperst-" He added, looking over to Spyro. "A truly rare sight, a truly rare sight indeed." He said in a strange tone.

"The last one you'll get to see." Cyrus spat coldly.

"Ah, you have guts little lizard!" Krall exclaimed merrily. "Too bad guts only get you _into_ fights," He said, reaching for something in his pouch. "They don't get you _out_ of them." He said, tilting his head disturbingly.

Spyro then noticed Tarrare began winding his winch closer to him, ripping it out of the earth and holding it at the ready.

Spyro could feel the tension in the air. This was going to be difficult, and a lot of lives, lives he was responsible for, were at stake. He couldn't let himself loose, not to these monsters, not here. Despite the cruel cold the two dragon slayers' usettleing aura was emitting, Spyro wasn't shaking, or at least not from fear, but from anticipation.

"Cyrus?" Spyro called, looking over to his brother. "Are you ready?"

Cyrus let out a heavy sigh and lowered his head a bit. Then, in a tired tone he spoke. "As I'll ever be." He said getting into battle pose.

After this, it was only a few seconds before Spyro called forth his flames and released a a blazing river of orange flames at the two dragon slayers. He could feel the heat of his fire burn bright.

But then, Spyro saw something pass through his flames. He saw Tarrare's winch shooting through his stream of fire and soon enough, he felt the mass of wound up chains slam against his chest, knocking the wind out of his lungs and sending him sprawling backwards, crashing down roughly against the cold, frozen grass.

Spyro got up quickly, and looked over to Tarrare, who was charging at Spyro with his winch trailing behind him. Tarrare then swung his winch in an overhead ark, aiming to crash it down against Spyro's head.

However, as the winch came down, Spyro dashed to his left, avoiding the impact of the heavy winch. But Spyro had no time to rest, for Tarrare was already closing in to throw punches at Spyro. The dragon slayer attacked unrelentingly, making Spyro back up in an attempt to avoid the attacks. Spyro tried to counter by releasing his fire at his enemy, however, that's when Spyro realized, Tarrare wasn't attacking him at random.

Wherever Spyro tried to call his flames forth, Tarrare seem to notice and anticipated by hitting Spyro with a quick jab to his neck, which made Spyro cough roughly and lose control over his flames. The dragon slayer ususally followed up by hitting Spyro in the bridge of the nose, which made his eyes water and blurred his vision, which made Spyro panic and try using his flames again, only to receive another sharp blow to the neck and be left coughing instead of spewing fire.

As Spyro stumbled backwards, overwhelmed by Tarrare's calculative onslaught, he realized he needed a change of approach. So, Spyro dashed backwards with a small burst of his wings and after a moment to wipe his eyes and clear his vision, Spyro used his wings once again, this time to get himself airborne and get an advantage against Tarrare.

However, when Spyro rose over the dragon slayer, he reacted by swinging his winch in a wide ark, catching Spyro off guard and crashing the mass of metal against Spyro's side.

Spyro felt the force from the impact spread through his body, stunning him for a moment until the shock was dispersed. By that time, Spyro was on the ground, his face pressed against the frozen blades of grass, groaning in strain as he slowly pulled himself off the ground.

After shaking his head to make himself focus and silently thanking his impenetrable scales, Spyro took a look around. He saw Tarrare slowly winding up his winch and walking toward him in a brisk pace, all while Cyrus was nowhere to be seen.

"Cyrus!?" Spyro called, stepping away from the approaching dragon slayer. "Where are you, buddy?" He asked.

"Busy!" Cyrus' voice shouted behind Spyro.

At that, Spyro turned around so fast, he felt a sting of pain in his neck. Behind him, Spyro saw Cyrus flying through the air, being chased by a host of creatures made of humanoid bones and bird heads.

The creatures were leaping up at the flying dragon, pecking their sharp black beaks at Cyrus, attempting to skewer him. However whenever one of the creatures leaped up, Cyrus slashed at their heads with his claws, which were covered in a bloody red glow.

However, there were plenty of creatures attacking him and the indigo dragon was indeed very occupied dealing with them. All the while, Krall was sitting down beside a large pillar of black mist, from the which even more bone creatures were emerging and moving against Cyrus.

Spyro was about to rush over and help his brother, but he suddenly remembered. "Tarrare."

Out of excellent timing or just sheer luck, Spyro ducked out of the way or a horizontal swing of Tarrare's winch which, had he not dodged, would have hit him over the head.

Spyro then turned around and after taking a deep breath and rising his head, he fired a firebolt right at Tarrare's face, causing the dragon slayer to yelp and stumble backwards. Not letting up, Spyro fired another bolt of orange flames at his enemies face which landed once again and once again caused the evil elf to stumble backwards.

However, not pressing his luck, Spyro turned around and flew over to where Cyrus was. Just as another one of the disturbing bone creatures was about to leap up at Cyrus, Spyrolowerd his head and headbutted it mid air, turning its body into bone meal.

"Thanks," Cyrus sighed as he swooped down and slashed another one of the creatures. "I think this is going really well." He said in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah, totally." Spyro agreed in the same tone as he shot a firebolt at one of the creatures leaping up at them.

Spyro could tell his brother was just as tired as he was. The indigo dragon was sweating, breathing unevenly and was putting in visible effort into keeping himself airborne.

"My drain doesn't work on them," Cyrus said. "I can't get any stamina back and this fight is really dragging out."

"Yeah, you have a point." Spyro agreed, realizing how heavy his own body was and how all the blows Tarrare had landed on him were throbbing intensely throughout his body, making it difficult for him to concentrate.

However, Spyro knew he had to keep going. So, he took a deep breath and looked down at the bone creatures beneath him. Then, Spyro opened his mouth and released a waterfall of orange flames upon the creatures. The bright flames charred the screeching monsters, soon turning them into dust.

Afterwards, Spyro let out a breathless sigh as he contemplated his work, a little proud of himself. However, his rest was cut short when a familiar voice came from beneath.

"Come on, lizards!" Krall's croaky voice exclaimed. "Get down from there so we can end this!"

"Do these guys _ever_ get tired?" Spyro wondered in frustration at seeing Tarrare walk up to Krall, both dragon slayer giving absolutely no sign of being fatigued or drained, despite fighting for even longer than either one of the purple dragon siblings.

"I don't think they do." Cyrus said in a serious tone. Spyro noticed Cyrus had narrowed his eyes and had gone silent, as if he realized something.

"Well," Krall picked up, making Spyro look down at him. "If you don't wanna come down-" He paused, shiting his gaze from Spyro, back down to Cynder's body. "-You don't have to." He said as he began walking toward the violet dragoness.

At that, anger started boiling up within Spyro once again. He clenched his teeth and fists and was about to dive straight down at the horrible maroon imp for even thinking of hurting Cynder again.

However, before Spyro could dive down, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of green. Spyro then witnessed as a bolt of green and black flames flew downwards through the air, and hit Krall in a blazing impact that knocked him off his feet.

The maroon imp let out a surprised yelp when the green firebolt hit him in the shoulder, incinerating his left arm, part oh his shoulder and making the left arm coming out of his back fall off, only to be turned to ash on the floor by the embering burns on it's base.

Spyro then turned to look at Cyrus, a wide eyed look on his face. The indigo dragon was looking down loathingly at Krall and despite the trails of smoke coming out of his mouth, he kept his composure, if only to spite the wounded dragon slayer.

Krall's wounds were covered in green embers that glowed against the disgusting tar-like substance that was pouring out of his body. However, despite being grievously wounded, Krall didn't seem to be in pain, if anything, the horrifying glare and low growl he was giving Cyrus indicated he was enraged more than anything.

The dragon slayer then shifted his focus from Cyrus and used his remaining arms to reach for something in his black pouch once again.

However, Spyro had no time to dwell on the wounded dragon slayer. He was knocked into a diferent mindset when he saw Tarrare's winch shooting up at him. Spyro reacted by diving down and letting the mass of chains pass above him.

At that, Spyro decided he had just had enough. "Cyrus!" He called.

Cyrus then looked over to Spyro, looking at him with a hard expression. The two dragons then shared a firm nod, before they both looked down to the elven dragon slayer beneath them.

Then, Spyro and Cyrus dove down, flying toward Tarrare. The dragon slayer responded by swinging his winch at the two dragons. Spyro dodged the incoming swing and managed to get close to his enemy. Then, Spyro lowered his head and flew low, so low he felt some tall blades of grass scrape his chest. After getting close enough, Spyro rammed himself against Tarrare's legs, knocking the dragon slayer off his balance and causing him to start falling down.

In that moment, Cyrus swooped in, and with a glowing claw, the indigo dragon slashed upward in a bloody uppercut, giving Tarrare one last dose of damage before the dragon slayer hit the ground with a loud, heavy thud.

Afterwards, Spyro let out a short, triumphant laugh. "Hey! We make a pretty good team!" He said as his brother landed beside him.

"I thought we had already established that." Cyrus said in a sarcastic tone. "You know, back when we destroyed that one bad guy made of trash." He recalled with a small smile.

"Urgh! You two are way too hard to get rid of!" Krall shouted.

"That you are." Tarrare's voice sounded, shortly before the dragon slayer begna getting on his feet and patted himself down, snuffing out any hope Spyro had of dealing lasting damage to the dragon slayer. "And quite honestly," He continued, his modulated voice, to Spyro's surprise, no longer sounding muffled. "I think we should really wrap this up. We haven't had a decent meal in a long time-" He paused and turned around to face Spyro. "-And purple dragons are surprisingly tasty _raw._ "

Tarrare's mask had fallen off, revealing the lower half of the elf's face. It looked normal, except for the part where his lower jaw was split in two, like an ant's mandible. From this grotesk mouth a steady amount of chunky, black saliva dripped, very similar in pretty much every way to the tar-like substance Spyro had seen the dragon slayers bleed whenever they were damaged heavily. He also had a long, oily black tongue which he used to lick his lips in a disgusting manner that made Spyro have to hold back a gag reflex.

"Alright!" A familiar, croaky voice shouted. "Let's put an end to this-" Krall demanded as he hopped onto Tarrare's back, with all four of his arms completely healed. "-For real this time!" He shouted, raising his second pair of arms over his head. Spyro noticed he was holding something in each fist.

"You took the words right out of my mouth!" Spyro shouted back, already in battle pose.

Spyro then saw Cyrus stand beside him, in battle pose, staring down the dragon slayers in front on them. So, building up tension in his muscles, Spyro got ready to pounce on the dragon slayers.

Then, Spyro release the tension he'd built up. He sprung forward, head down and eyes closed, aiming to headbutt Tarrare. And soon enough, Spyro felt himself hit something. However, soon after, Spyro felt something grab a hold of his neck, tightening like a vice. Then, Spyro felt like he was slammed against a smooth surface, far too smooth to be the grass-covered ground on the island.

Spyro was forced to open his eyes out of purse shock. He then saw what the problem was. Spyro had hit something, just not Tarrare. He had hit a bubble of bright purple energy, that was now surrounding the two dragon slayers and was being held against it by Tarrare, who was choke holding him, apparently able to stick his arm through the bubble's surface.

Spyro noticed that Krall had placed something on the top of Tarrare's head, splitting his frenzied blue hair. It was a totem, no larger than a soda can, decorated with the carving of a grimm bird. Spyro guessed this item was the one creating the force field around the dragon slayers, since it only appeared after Krall had placed it on Tarrare's head.

"Spyro!" Cyrus cried in distress.

The indigo dragon then took a deep breath, lighting up the markings on his chest. Afterwards, Cyrus aimed a bolt of green flames at Krall and Tarrare, a bolt that was caught by the purple bubble around the dragon slayers. However, to Spyro's surprise, the green flamed began eating away the magic barrier, creating a widening hole in the purple magic.

After this, Cyrus let out a pained cough, but he held himself high, ignoring the black steams of smoke emerging from his mouth.

 _"Argh! Infernus sind so nervig!"_ Krall complained, lifting the totem off Tarrare's head and putting it back in his pouch, dispelling the purple bubble completely.

" _Et sont donc Adiapersts."_ Tarrare added in a frustrated tone. He was looking at Spyro with half open eyes, apparently bored by how long it was taking the purple dragon to choke to death.

"Let him go!" Cyrus ordered angrily.

The indigo dragon then flew upward, and called forth his magic, making his paws glow bloody red. He then began to dive down at the dragon slayers, ready to attack. However, Krall simply tossed forth a fistfull of a fine, red dust, which turned into a wide cloud that floated in front of him, like a smoke screen.

However, when Cyrus entered this cloud of red dust, the indigo dragon suddenly lost control over his body. He plummeted down to the ground and began coughing roughly and gripping his throat tightly. Spyro then saw Tarrare walk over to Cyrus, only to raise his foot over his head and stomp down with a sonorous impact, after then which, Cyrus suddenly stopped moving.

" _Bro… ther!"_ Spyro tried to scream as his heart was gripped by a brutal, familiar cold. However, the words got stuck in Spyro's throat, probably thanks to the hand that was squeezing his throat shut.

"You dragons really are fools." Tarrare spat in a voice that made him sound like a gentleman losing his cool.

"Yeah, fine." Krall mumbled. "You can do the bad guy speech this time." He said with a sigh.

"You really thought you two could defeat us?" Tarrare asked. "What made you think that two dragons could accomplish the task six dragons failed? The fact your scales are purple? Hah! Don't make me laugh." He paused. "You aren't the first purple dragon we've killed, boy. I mean-" He paused, gesturing at his purple boots. "-Where do you think I got the leather for these boots?" He asked with a mangled smile.

"And where I got this sick hat!" Krall interjected, pointing at the skull he was wearing.

"You aren't special, little lizard," Tarrare picked up. "You want to know what you are? You're an _animal_. Your whole _species_ are animals." He hissed loathingly. "And do you know what happens to animals?" He asked in a sinister tone, pulling Spyro closer to his empty, grey eyes, closer to his butchered mouth and oil-black tongue. "Animals. Get. Put. _Down_."

At that, Tarrare took his second hand, and griped Spyro's neck, tightening his grip even further. Spyro then began clawing at the dragon slayers hands, desperately trying to catch a breath. But Spyro was losing his strength, his vision was getting dark.

"Tell me, little lizard," Tarrare began in a mocking tone. "What good are those impenetrable scales doing you now?" He asked with a slow, cruel chuckle as Spyro gasped for air.

Spyro's mind was getting cloudy from how close he was to passing out. He could only hear Tarrare's words echoing in his head and images of his friends laying down, defeated, about to fall into the clutches of these monsters, all because of him. The cold kept biting at every inch of his body, the pain of his wounds kept pulsing through him. He wasn't strong enough to keep himself awake.

"Hey!" A voice shouted, sounding distant and faded to Spyro.

" _Was jetzt?"_ Krall's croaky voice exclaimed, sounding annoyed.

"Another dragon," Tarrare's voice stated. "There seems to be an infestation around here." He said as one of his hands let go of Spyro and the other loosened its grip, allowing Spyro to gasp for breath and cough roughly.

Then, under Tarrare's loosened grip, Spyro was able to turn his head and look over to where he'd heard the faint voice come from. Once he did, Spyro's heart started aching, because a few meters away was a familiar, little green dragon.

"L-Let him g-go!" Camo shouted, his voice as shaky as his legs. The green dragon looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Let him go?" Krall asked, sounding astounded. "And why should we do that? Or are _you_ -" Krall pointed at Camo. "-Going to stop us?"

Camo then gulped hard, and cleared his voice before taking a nervous step forward. "Y-You bet I'm gonna m-make you." He stated.

At that, Spyro heard Krall let out a long, breathless wheeze that prolonged itself as the maroon imp began sliding off Tarrare's back and onto the ground. Once there, Krall bent over in a fit of roaring laughter.

"H-Hey, stop laughing!" Camo ordered, trying to sound tough, but failing to get the dragon slayer to take him seriously.

"Oh, ohoho, just-just give me a second." Krall asked between snickers as he got himself off the ground. "Ahhh, that was good laugh _Weinkraut_." He spat a freshly made nickname.

At that, Camo stiffend slightly, glaring more intensely at Krall. _"Nenn mich nicht so, Wichtel."_ Camo spat back, in the same language Krall used, something that surprised Spyro so much, his blurry vision cleared a bit.

"Ahhhh! Finally!" Krall exclaimed joyously. "Another man of culture!" He said, gesturing at Camo with his four arms. "That language is difficult, _Weinkraut_! My sincerest congratulations on learning it _and_ on the lack of an accent!" He cheered, giving Camo a small bow.

At that, Camo glanced to his sides, visibly confused. "T-Thanks?" He said shakily.

"Nevertheless," Krall picked up. "I'm afraid we're still going to have to kill you," He stated. "And your friends." He added rapidly, making Camo flinch. "Tarrare, kill the purple one _after_ I pull out all of _Weinkraut'_ s teeth." He said, pointing his pliers at Camo before he started walking toward him.

" _D'accord."_ Tarrare said calmly, holding Spyro just tight enough for him to take a breath.

Spyro used that opportunity to call his friend's name. "Camo!" He shouted in his fittingly strangled voice. "Get out of here… you can't… fight these guys!" He said through cold, breathless gasps.

However, Camo didn't seem to heed Spyro's words even as Krall continued walking toward him. In fact, to Spyro's dread, Camo started walking toward Krall as if he wanted to face him.

"No! Camo, no!" Spyro cried, trying to squirm free of Tarrare's grip, clawing at his hand and trying to use his wings to escape.

But then, Spyro was forced to stop, when he felt a sharp, precise blow, courtesy of Tarrare's free hand, land just above his stomach, sending a discharge of pain through his chest, causing his lungs to spasm. Spyro remembered Vixen hitting him in the exact same spot. _"Maybe it's a dragon slayer thing."_ He guessed in his mind as he tried focusing through the pain and cold.

" _Komm schon, Weinkraut,"_ Krall's voice sounded. "Let me see those pearly whites." He said, clicking his pliers at Camo.

Camo and Krall were now less than two meters away from one another and Spyro's dread was growing with each step the duo took toward one another. But then, something happened, something that made Spyro's eyes go round.

Camo started glowing, or well, part of him started glowing. Camo himself didn't seem aware of it, because when Krall came to a sudden stop and actually took a step back from him, he seemed confused. Afterwards, Camo looked down at his chest and realized what was going on.

Camo let out a surprised yelp and started poking his chest. "W-What's going on?" He asked, a little frightened. Camo then lifted his head and looked to his left then, his eyes went round and he spoke in an even more frightened voice. "Why is everyone glowing!?"

At that, Spro looked over to where Camo was looking. That's when he saw it. He saw that all his friends, Cynder, Bash, Sunburn, Whirlwind, Drobot and Zap, had a shimmering glow in their chests. Despite them all laying down and unmoving, the light within them shone just as brightly as Camo's.

However, Spyro also noticed that the light was colored differently for each one of his friends. The light that glowed was the same color as the element each dragon belonged to. There was a vibrant spectrum of red, blue, green, brown, orange, cyan and grey that light up the isle's gloomy air.

Spyro then looked at Tarrare. He noticed that the elf was looking down at Spyro's chest, a wide-eyed, frightened look in his face. Then, Spyro lowered his gaze and confirmed himself what Tarrare's expression had made him suspect.

From his chest, right where he could feel his heart beat, Spyro saw a bright purple light. Seeing this light, seeing the same glow on all of his friend's hearts, it made Spyro feel a surge of energy. He felt the cold the dragon slayers were giving off, fade, replaced instead with a warm, effervescent sensation.

Then, Spyro began feeling something swell up within him, trying to escape, running through through his veins, breathing in his lungs, reaching for his throat. Spyro then took a deep breath and he felt that sensation grow stronger, almost as if it was grateful for the breath of fresh air.

When Tarrare noticed this a bit of life came back to his eyes, if only to express fear. Then, with all his might, he tried throwing Spyro away from him, proceeding to lift his arms, as if to protect himself from something

And so, Spyro used his wings to stabilize himself midair to get a better shot. Then, he rocked his head back, only to bring it forward and open his mouth, causing all that energy that had swollen up within him to come storming out.

Spyro saw a stream of flames erupt from his mouth. They had his trademark fiery orange smolder, but, Spyro noticed that his flames were accented by bright flashes of colors. Blue, green, gray and more shimmered in shot flashes beneath the orange glow of Spyro's fire.

These flames then crashed against Tarrare, like a river crashing against a rock. The dragon slayer was pushed backwards, groaning loudly as he was forced to step further and further away from Spyro.

Spyro wanted to keep the flames up, but, before long, he found himself out of breath. When Spyro looked to see what had happened to Tarrare, he was admittedly surprised.

The dragon slayer's arms were covered in grey, stone-like patches of petrified skin and flesh. Tarrare's arms were shaking and his hands were clenched into fists all while an expression of strain and of actual pain remained in his face.

Spyro then looked over to Camo and Krall. He noticed they both had wide eyes, and were looking at Spyro intently. However, Spyro noticed that Camo was smiling a broad astounded smile, while Krall seemed to be stammering, all while his yellow eye twitched beneath his grimm hat.

"Al- _right_!" Camo said energetically, suddenly focusing on Krall.

The little green dragon, then took a deep breath and fired a spiky yellow orb at Krall. Only that, just like Spyro's flames, bright, familiar colors flashed under the surface of the projectile. And when the orb hit Krall in one of the arms that was coming out of his back, there was a small flash of the very same energy.

When this impact connected, Krall let out a howl of pain as he stumbled over. Spyro noticed that after Camo had attack the dragon slayer's arm, the maroon flesh had turned stone grey, just like the part of Tarrare's forearms he had used to defend himself.

When Krall moved to get himself up, Spyro heard a low, creaking sound, like a clay sculpture breaking. He then noticed that Krall's petrified arm, broke off the imp's body, to shatter on the grass-covered ground.

After this, there was a long silence. Everyone held still, dragon and dragon slayer alike. The silence was broken when Krall's croaky voice whispered something, a single word. _"Sternenfeuer."_ He said in a somber tone.

After that, Krall and Tarrare moved, making Spyro flinch and get into battle pose. However, Spyro noticed that the two villains were walking toward each other, not even looking at Spyro or Camo. Krall then got on Tarrare's back and handed his friend something he'd pulled out of his black pouch. Tarrare took it in silence and kept his eyes on Spyro.

"This." Krall began, hissing his words. "Isn't. Over." He promised, glaring at Spyro with his glowing eye, fixated and unflinching, like a dead man's stare. After giving Spyro this one last dose of chills, the imp the raised an arm over his head, his fist closed, concealing something.

Spyro then saw as both dragon slayers clenched their fists hard, and caused two separate pops to sound. Then, a thick grey mist began pouring out of their clenched fists. It moved unnaturally, enveloping the dragon slayer's bodies. After the mist covered the two villains, it dispersed moments later, relieving that the two villains had vanished, leaving behind nothing except for silence.

Spyro then noticed that the light glowing from his chest had slowly began to fade, disappearing before long. Spyro then looked at Camo and noticed the same had happened to him. Then, Spyro looked over to his friends and noticed that the same was true for them. Their lights had faded as well.

However, Spyro quickly started feeling a terrible sensation claw at him. He saw that none of his friends were moving. Spyro then rushed over to the dragon closest to him, Sunburn and tried seeing if he was alright.

"Sunburn!" Spyro called as he shook his friend's shoulders' trying to wake him up. When the red dragon gave no reaction, Spyro started despairing. "Camo!" He cried. "See if the other's are alright!"

"Y-Yeah!" Camo responded, running past Spyro, over to where Bash and Whirlwind where laying down.

Meanwhile, Spyro started putting Sunburn on his back. Spyro noticed the red dragon was still warm, a good sign he concluded. He carried his fallen friend over to a large rock nearby, resign him gently against its surface. Spyro then looked around, searching for his other companions. He then saw Cyrus, laying motionless, right where Tarrare had stomped on him.

Spyro's heart started aching as he rushed over. When he looked down at his unconscious brother, Spyro's mind started racing, racing until it remembered something. Then, almost by reflex, Spyro took one of his brother's paws and held it in his own.

"Come on man," Spyro spoke to his brother. "You can use your freaky magic, it's fine." He asked, squeezing his brother's paw harder when he didn't respond. "Come on, just like last time, you can take some, I'll be fine." He insisted. With a brittle whisper, he added. "Please."

Spyro felt Cyrus' grip on his paw tighten, by such a slight difference he almost had failed to feel it. And then, Spyro heard something. A small groan, coming from Cyrus' throat. At that, Spyro was overjoyed. He let out a gasp as he held his brother's paw with both of his, thanking him silently for holding on.

Afterwards, Spyro put Cyrus on his back and carried his brother over to the same rock Sunburn was now resting on. After this, Spyro panned his head around, searching for his remaining friends. That's when he saw a familiar, violet figure, laying down a few meters away.

Spyro rushed over, his heart hammering against his chest. "Cynder!" He called as he sat down beside her.

Spyro tried lifting Cynder's head off the ground to get a better look at her. She had her eyes closed and looked knocked out. "Cynder?" He called softly, delicately nudging her snout with his.

After this, Spyro noticed that Cynder's eyes flickered, only to open slowly. Cynder let out a low groan, like that of someone who had just woke up with a headache. "Spy...ro?" She called weakly.

"Yes!" Spyro called, joy heightening his voice. "Yes Cynder, it's me, I'm here." He said, speaking in a more controlled tone. "They're gone," He added. "Krall and Tarrare, they left. You're alright." He soothed.

At that, Cynder closed her eyes again and let out a small chuckle. "Heh, took you long enough." She teased, hitting Spyro's side with a whack of her tail, making him let out a short chuckle.

"I know," Spyro acknowledged with a sad smile, the weight of guilt settling on his back. "I'm sorry." He said, resting a paw on Cynder's forehead, caressing it slowly, while the dragoness kept her eyes closed.

Afterwards, Spyro put Cynder on his back, and carried her over to the others, placing her gently beside Cyrus, letting her rest.

After looking at the three dragons for a moment, making sure they were alright, Spyro moved to turn around, wanting to help Camo out with the others. However, when Spyro turned around, his heart stopped for a second and he almost jumped out of his scales.

"Spyro?" Camo's voice sounded, alarmed by the raket. "What's…" He began as he walked over to Spyro. "...Wrong." He finished when he saw the answer to his question, floating a few feet away.

"Hello!" A squeaky, familiar and very annoying voice sounded.

Spyro didn't know how to react when he saw Broccoli Guy, waving mellowly up at him. So, Spyro tried cutting to the chase. "What do you want, Broccoli Guy?"

"You know how all of your friends are beaten up?" He asked, the obviousness of the question making Spyro angry. "Aaaaand you know how I have healing powers?" Broccoli Guy continued coyly. "Aaaaand how I helped you find Omen's lair that one time."

"Get to the point!" Spyro snapped, surprised at how quickly Broccoli Guy could get on his nerves.

At that, Broccoli Guy simply stared at Spyro, not intimidated. In fact, the little green vegetable hovered a little higher off the ground, to eye level with Spyro. The Doom Raider then smirked, a strange smile Spyro couldn't decipher.

Then, Spyro saw as Broccoli Guy stretched out his little stub of an arm and spoke. "How would you like some help?" He offered simply.

* * *

 _Author's notes_

 _Well, here we are, chapter nine. I'm really sorry this took so long, but in my defence, it is by far the ongest chapter I've ever writen. There wer also a couple of other things I had to mannage while I was working on this, so theres that. And also, this cahpter had a whole lot of things to manage and explain so... yeah._

 _But, I came through. I promised another chapter and you got another chapter, so you know what to expect whenI say this: more chapters are coming._

\- Enter Krall and Tarrare, the new dragon slayers! What will become of these terrifying new foes?

\- And so returns Broccoli Guy. What does the Doom Raider intend to do?


	10. Chapter 10

**Skylanders Academy: Song of the Hunt**

by andresponceb2002

 **Chapter 10) If the Stars Align**

The impact was sudden, like landing from a jump.

Krall felt his body materialize and as it did, he began to get a grip of his senses. He felt some of his arms around what he guessed was Tarrare's neck and as he panned his head around, Krall was able to see that he and his friend were in a new location.

They were in a medium sized island, that had a couple of shoddy, abandoned-looking wooden houses here and there.

After a moment though, Krall began feeling a foreign sensation on his back. It made him let go of his hold on his friend and stand on the ground.

" _Dummen drachen,"_ Krall grumbled. _"Dummen Sternenfeuer."_ He added as he took one of his hands and began poking at the spot on his back on which one of his arms used to be.

When he did this, Krall winced. He pulled his hand back, dissuaded form probing his injury by a sudden spike in the peculiar sensation. It was strange, like a hot, stinging feeling. Unpleasant, unfading and annoying. Very annoying.

"Ahhhh," Krall let out, his glowing yellow eye widening in realization. "I remember now."

It was pain. Krall was feeling pain. A hundred years of numbness in the Outlands had made him forget the feeling, but, the sensation was particularly easy to remember.

"The lizards have _Feuétoile,_ " Tarrare began speaking, making Krall focus. "That is quite the complication." He stated as he looked at his wounded arms, examining the petrified patches on his forearms.

Tarrare then slammed his forearms onto each other. This caused the elf to let out strained, hissing grunts but it also caused the larger pieces of petrified flesh to break off, revealing the black, tar-like thing that now runned through their veins.

"Yeah," Krall agreed. "And the purple brat brothers aren't going to be fun to deal with either." He stated, remembering the exhausted-looking indigo dragon and his whiny brother.

Then, following Tarrare's example, Krall balled up his right fist and, after tensing up his arm and stretching it out to his side, he swung it backwards and slammed his fist onto his back.

Krall heard a chunky crack, followed by a sudden discharge of intense pain that caused him to growl and punch a rock on the ground nearby repeatedly, cracking and then shattering it into little pieces.

His breathing had gotten a bit heavier, as it did when he felt pain. The thing about pain though, was that it didn't hurt Krall, it annoyed him, made him angry it made him lose focus and start growling and he hated that.

"Yes, the purple brats will be a problem," Tarrare agreed with a low sigh, making Krall focus on him and calm down slightly. "We will need to get back into shape if we are to defeat them now." He stated.

" _Ja, in der tat,"_ Krall replied. "But, to be fair, you weren't going all out." He declared, pointing at Tarrare.

"Oh? Really?" Tarrare asked in an innocent tone.

"Come on, _mein freund_ ," Krall began. "We both know there is a huge cleaver that's supposed to go at the end of that chain." He stated, gesturing at the rolled-up winch his friend was carrying.

At that, Tarrare just let out a short laugh, which made his mandible jaws kind of spasm strangely, causing a bit of the black tar dripping from his tongue to sprinkel out a little bit.

However, after this short moment of amusement, Tarrare composed himself, grimacing. "This hunt might be more tedious than we realized." He stated. "We might need help." He concluded, a reasonable proposition for Krall.

"You two, need _help_?" A new voice sounded suddenly, making Krall tense up and get on guard. "The Outlands must have left you rusty." The voice chuckled.

" _Diese stimme…_ " Krall whispered under his breath. There was something oddly familiar about that voice. After focusing by closing his eye for a moment, and racking his memory, Krall recalled his old friend's voice. "Vixen!"

At that, Krall turned around, to where the voice had come from it was when he saw her. Standing a few meters away, her long, pale hair covering her right eye, a wide, fanged grin on her face, stood Vixen Reynald.

"Hello, boys" Vixen greeted. "It has been a very long time." She said with a nostalgic sigh.

"Far too long, my friend" Tarrare spoke up, taking a step forward before giving Vixen a cordial bow. "We've missed you."

Vixen returned the courtesy as she spoke. "A hundred years to be exact. How did the Outlands treat you?" She asked sneeringly. "Better than me I hope."

"They were a little dull," Krall spoke up, walking closer to his friend. "It's not very exiting after you've killed all the vermin." He sighed, recalling the disappointing fights with the denizens of the Outlands. "And let me tell you, killing Fire Vipers is not as entertaining as slaying dragons." He stated, pointing at Vixen with the arm on his back, while placing the other two at his sides.

"Huh, tell me about it." Vixen chuckled as she rolled her eyes.

As the conversation continued, something clicked into place in Krall's mind, making his expression light up beneath his mask. "Oh, Vixen!" He called. "I have something for you!" He stated, causing her to look down at him.

Krall then drove one of his hands onto his pouch, and he felt the familiar sensation of dipping his hand into a vast empty void, filled with currents of air and pressure. After a moment, he felt the item he desired scrape against his open palm. He then closed his hand around the item and pulled it out.

"Here!" Krall said proudly as he stretched his hand out to Vixen and showed her his work.

In his palm, was a necklace, made of seven teeth, the culmination of years of searching. Each tooth was painted in homage the color of the element of the dragon it belonged to. There were also a couple of decorations, like black and red feathers Krall had collected.

"Aww, thank you my friend!" Vixen said in a happy tone, as she leaned closer to Krall and gently picked up his necklace, a small, curious smile on her face as she inspected her new gift. "I will treasure this, dearly." She promised as she moved to take the necklace to a pocket in the back of her belt.

But then, something snapped in Krall's mind. "Wait!" He yelled, holding all three of his arms out a t Vixen. "I just remembered, it's not finished yet!" He explained.

Quickly, Krall drove his hand back into his pouch and caught the small object his masterpiece was missing. "A-ha!" He exclaimed as he pulled out a tooth, still covered in fresh blood. "Here it is, the tooth of an Undead dragon!" He declared as he held it out for Vixen to take. "It was the hardest to find! I just got it today!" He stated proudly as Vixen picked up the item from his palm.

Vixen then put the tooth and the necklace on her back pocket and let out a pleased sigh.

After this however, Vixen leaned in again and narrowed her eye as he glanced between her two companions. She seemed to noticed the patches of petrified skin on Krall and Tarrare's bodies. She then leaned in a bit closer and sniffed the air like a bloodhound, her ears standing on point after this.

"You fought _them_ , didn't you?" She asked, sounding a bit severe. "The purple brothers and their tagalong circus." She hissed.

"You know them?" Krall guessed, tilting his head. "They survived a fight with _you_?" He asked, astounded.

"The infernus boy caught me by surprise," She explained, crossing her arms. "But it doesn't matter," She added in a bitter tone. "We can't slay them anyway."

For a moment, Krall was paralyzed. He was almost certain he had heard Vixen say something about not slayinging dragons.

"What do you mean we can't slay them?" Tarrare inquired.

"A lot has changed in a hundred years," Vixen began, a frown growing on her face. "The truth has been forgotten." She spat. _"Their crimes have been forgiven."_ She muttered in a spiteful tone.

"W-What are you saying?" Krall stammered, worried about what his friend's words could mean. "They still remember, right?" He asked, stepping closer to Vixen. "They still remember all the burned homes, all the screaming, all _we_ did for them… right?" He asked, almost pleadingly.

Vixen looked down at Krall. She closed her eyes and looked to the side, an expression of sad, resentful rage in her face. "They think the lizards are heroes." She said, in a simple honest tone. _"The murderers are heroes now."_ She muttered to herself in a lower tone.

"N-No," Krall whispered, his hands shaking. "No, that… that can't be. All the things the lizards did… the world can't just forget about them..." He said, trying to convince himself that such a horrible thing couldn't be possible. But he knew better, he knew Vixen was no liar.

"What!?" Tarrare exclaimed, completely losing his composure. "The lizards, are heroes!? How!?" He demanded angrily as he ranted, his mandible jaw snapping violently. "How did the memories of dragon fire fade from the minds of all those-" Tarrare's voice suddenly trailed off.

The elf's expresion froze, and drak saliva drooled slowly out of his mandible jaws. His eyes were round, unfocused as if his mind suddenly wondered elsewhere. But then, Tarrare's expresion hardened, his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed, his mangled mouth twitched into a grim frown.

"Eon…" He hissed, pure, unbridled hatred pouring out as he entonated the name.

At that, Krall's eye went round in realization. "Ahhhh, so the _Blue Liar_ did his work did he?" He spat, clenching his fists and jaw.

"I'm afraid he did," Vixen confirmed. "We can't just enjoy a simple hunt nowadays, it's considered a _crime._ " She grumbled as she rolled her eye.

" _Seit wann ist_ schädlingsbekämpfung _ein verbrechen_?" Krall mumbled bitterly, tightening his already balled up fists, to a point where he could feel his claws cut his flesh.

"But," Vixen added suddenly. "I believe there is a way we can fix this." She stated.

"Is that so?" Tarrare asked, intrigued. He stepped closer and listened in.

"Well," Krall spoke up. "You're the only one of us who died with her brain intact." He joked with a small chuckle. "What's the plan?"

Vixen took a moment, holding her chin and narrowing her eyes as she focused. "It will be difficult," She stated in a mildly obvious tone. "And we'll need a great many things," She added, in a slightly lower tone " _Things we will need to split up to get in time._ " She began muttering, faster and lower. " _And there will be a bit of_ really _dirty work."  
_

Krall was practically unable to discern what his friend was saying, but luckily, his other friend intervened.

"Vixen, darling," Tarrare began, speaking in a polite tone. "Could you speak up please?" He asked.

"Of course, sorry," She apologised, composing herself. "In any case, what I was going to say is that I've been here a bit longer than you two," She stated. "And I have picked up on a good deal of little details that can help us." She said, a wry smile tugging at her lips.

"Really?" Krall asked, listening eagerly. "What kind of details are we talking about?" Krall wandered as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Vixen's plans were always extremely fun.

"Well, listen closely my dragon slayer brothers," Vixen began, flashing a fanged grin. "Here's the plan."

* * *

Everything was dark. A faint ringing could be heard in the distance, nearly imperceptible. Cyrus could feel the side of his body pressed against an uneven surface.

The indigo dragon let out a long, strained groan as he slowly opened his eyes and got himself on his feet. "Where am I?" He asked out loud as he looked around him.

Cyrus was in a plain, ash-covered isle in the middle of nowhere. The sky above him was sunless and grey. That, coupled with the pale ash beneath his paws, made Cyrus realize with dread, where he was. He was in the Outlands.

"No, this isn't right." Cyrus began, his heartbeat slowly rising, quickening in fear of something.

Then, Cyrus heard a voice, a voice that sounded like metal being broken, like rusty gears grinding through a dulled microphone. "Hey, boy." The voice called. "It's been a while."

Cyrus began breathing heavily. He stood still, refusing to look behind him, perhaps out of an idea that maybe, if he didn't see who was behind him, they wound simply go away. But deep down, beneath any semblance of hope he felt, Cyrus knew that they weren't leaving, not until they had what they wanted.

And then, Cyrus felt them get closer to him, close enough for Cyrus to hear their joints creaking. Cyrus then flinched, his body tensing up against his will when he felt something touch one of his shoulders.

He felt a single finger tap his scales, followed by another, and then another, only to rest a heavy, wooden hand. He then felt another set of fingers tap on his other shoulder, one after the other to let another heavy hand rest.

Despite his efforts to keep his composure, Cyrus started shaking, a frail, weak tremor that was soon mabe company by low whimpers when the splintery wooden fingers on his shoulders started taping rhythmically, to the beat of a symphony Cyrus couldn't hear.

"I've missed you, boy," The horrible, familiar voice said, it's sourceless, agonizing resonance making Cyrus want to cover his ears and close his eyes, to shut it all out. "Did you miss me?" The voice asked with a tone that sounded both merry and dangerous.

Cyrus swallowed hard, he tried composing his uneven, frightened breath. "This… isn't happening," He began, with more certainty than he felt, almost as if to convince himself. "You aren't here… not anymore. This is just a dream." He stated.

At that, there was silence. No wind blew, no animals in the distance howled and no hideous, metallic double voice came. And then, Cyrus felt the two wooden hands holding his shoulders, slowly slide off, relieving him of their dreadful pressure and causing him to let out a shaky sigh before evening his breath.

"You're right," The voice said in a low tone, almost as if had been defeated somehow.

After hearing that, for a second, Cyrus felt a glimmer of hope, he felt like he was safe. His lips slowly started curving upward, in a tiny hopeful smile.

"Of course," The voice picked up, now speaking in a joyous, laid back tone. "That doesn't mean this isn't going to hurt." He finished with a sinister chuckle.

Cyrus then started shaking again. He bent over, covering his face in his paws as he let out shaky, uneven breaths. His heart was racing, hammering against his chest. Then, Cyrus heart the being behind him move their arm in a swift motion, raising it over their head, causing Cyrus to shut his eyelids tighter

Shortly afterwards, Cyrus felt his whole body be set on fire.

* * *

Cyrus woke up with a short, agonized scream, which quickly receded into shaky sobbing. He hugged his knees and hid his face behind his wings.

He was awake, he knew how it felt to be awake. He could tell because his body was heavy and his eyes stung. And because he could feel it in his skin, hundreds of thousands of freshly removed needle pricks, itching and tingling with wanning intensity.

His breaths were shaky and heavy and he had a hard time evening them out thanks to the ringing headache he was feeling.

A minute passed, and the headache slowly went away, Cyrus head cleared up a bit and he was able to focus. He inhaled for a few seconds, held and then exhaled for a few seconds. He repeated the process a couple of times until he was able to breathe normally.

After that, Cyrus slowly lowered his wings, and let go of his knees as he let out a long, low sigh and opened his eyes. Now that he was more relaxed, Cyrus was able to get a grip on his surroundings. He was in a strange room, he never recalled being in before. He also noticed he was laying in a circular bed, surrounded by a metal frame.

The room was roughly circular, had a couple of circular windows, a brown wooden door and quite a few decorations. A wide variety of posters, colored banners of the many elements were the most noticeable items hanging from the walls. There were a couple of small desks and nightstands here and there, as well as what seemed like a video game console of some kind sitting on top of a wooden desk near a window on the edge of the room.

There also was a large, tall mirror, which oddly, was facing the wall, preventing Cyrus from seeing his reflection. And as odd as he found this, he didn't focus on it for long.

Through the room's window, Cyrus could see the light of the sun shining through, meaning it was probably somewhere around noon, wherever he was.

"I should find out where I am." Cyrus told himself as he got on his feet and moved to get off the bed.

However, when he stepped off the metal rim, Cyrus felt his joints buckle. He let out a pained grunt as he shakily got his ballance back. He concluded he was more drained than he had realized and took a moment to stand up properly, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head, only to let it hang a bit low.

But then, a strange sound reached Cyrus' ears and made him tense up. It was the sound of a door opening, of its hinges turing and squeaking lightly. This caused Cyrus to look behind his shoulder, to where the sound was coming from.

There, Cyrus saw a familiar outline, staring at him in silence. Her peculiar cyan fur signaled who she was. She had part of her left wing covered in white bandages, but otherwise, she looked fine.

Whirlwind kept her eyes on Cyrus and Cyrus kept his eyes on her. There was a strange silence, a sort of peace neither dragon was willing to disturb. Cyrus held Whirlwind's gaze, and he noticed that there was a small light in her ocean blue eyes. There was a calm in them, a shimmering sensation Cyrus didn't quite recognize.

However, he noticed that her expression light up suddenly and her ears shot up for a moment, as if she remembered what she was here for. She looked to her side, covering her face partly with her healthy wing. This in turn made Cyrus react as well, glancing away and looking down at his paws.

"H-Hey." Whirlwind began in a nervous tone.

"Hey." Cyrus repeated, fixing his posture a bit.

"How long ago did you wake up?" Whirlwind asked.

"A couple of minutes ago," Cyrus responded. The indigo dragon then shifted focus to a more pressing concern of his. "The others," He picked up, in a more urgent tone. "Spyro, are they all alright?" He asked.

Whirlwind took a moment to answer, she looked at Cyrus in a strange way, with slightly narrowed eyes and with her head tilted a little, expressing curiosity. However, she quickly shook her head and composed herself.

"Everyone's alright," Whirlwind said in a mellow tone, "They're pretty beaten up, some more than others, but no one is in too much trouble. I helped to heal them so they should be somewhere in the Academy," She stated, confirming Cyrus' suspicions as to where they were. "Other than Sunburn and Drobot, you're actually the last one up, so, I thought I'd check up on you." She explained.

At that, Cyrus closed his eyes for a moment and felt his lips curl slightly upward. He felt a huge wave of relief wash over him and felt his whole body relax as a result.

"A-Also," Whirlwind picked up, a little shakily. "Spyro and Cynder told us what happened, after we all got knocked out." She stated, calling Cyrus' attention. "Spyro told us that, you and Camo helped him beat the dragon slayers, that he and Camo were able to breathe a really strange and powerful fire that scared them away." She said.

"A strange fire?" Cyrus asked, confused. "I… I don't think I was awake when that happened." He said, scratching his neck.

"No, you weren't," Whirlwind confirmed. "Spyro said you were knocked out." She explained, slightly ashamed. "But, uh… that's not everything they said about you." She added.

Cyrus was a little confused by this, but he listened in patiently.

"Cynder told me that," She picked up, looking down at her paws. "That when Tarrare was about to drop me off the island, you… you were the one who saved me," She said. Whirlwind then lifted her gaze and looked over to Cyrus once again, a small smiled on her lips. "I just, wanted to thank you for that." She said in a soft tone.

After hearing that, Cyrus' eyes went round. He felt a strange sensation root itself in his being. He felt warmer, lighter, as if he had just woken up from a really pleasant sleep, something he wasn't used to feeling.

He started feeling an odd urge that manifested itself by heating up his cheeks. He figured he wanted to smile, genuinely. However before he could even curl his lips up, Cyrus felt something go wrong. Another, much more familiar sensation, started throbbing, reminding Cyrus of a grim truth. He shuddered as his left eye twitched while he lowered his head and took a paw to his forehead, to his itching red mark.

He closed his eyes as he spoke. "It was nothing," He said dryly. "It was the least I could do after what I did to you to you." He finished, tightening his grip on his mark as he slowly opened his eyes, avoiding Whirlwind's gaze.

The dragoness stayed silent for a moment. Cyrus heard her take a step forward and draw breath, as if she wanted to speak. However, he heard her step back and after a brief pause, she spoke in a down tone. "Right, I… I don't know what I was thinking." She said. "Spyro is talking to Master Eon and Kaossandra, he said they wanted to talk to all of us." She stated.

"Alright then," Cyrus spoke up. "I'll meet you all there." He said quietly.

After this, there was a small stretch of hesitant silence, a chance for something to be said. A chance not taken.

Cyrus heard Whirlwind walk away, closing the door behind her and leaving Cyrus by himself once again. The indigo dragon waited a few moments, looking empily at the floor. The only thing he felt now, was an itch, incessant and distracting. He took his paw over to his forehead and started scratching, slowly, steadily.

After he managed to push the sensation to the back of his consciousness, Cyrus began walking over to the door. Shortly after leaving the room, Cyrus made his way down some stairs, to a spacious living room. From here, Cyrus had passage to several corridors to what he guessed where other rooms around the house. However, he was drawn more potently to the large door he guessed led outside.

Cyrus walked over and opened the door. He winced slightly as the light of the day flashed suddenly over his eyes, but he composed himself quickly. Out on the isle the house was built upon, Cyrus saw a rather surprising sight.

He saw Whirlwind, standing near a bridge that connected the island to a path toward the main Academy. However, Cyrus noticed that the cyan dragoness was not on her own. He saw a few other familiar faces. Camo and Bash had arrived and seemed to be speaking with Whirlwind. Looking at the crowd, Cyrus noticed a couple of things.

Firstly, Camo was finally out of his bandages. His wing seemed to have healed and the little green dragon seemed even more lively than before, something that raised Cyrus' spirits. Secondly, He noticed that it was now Bash's tail, that was covered partly in bandages and a cast. He also had a dark bruise over his right eye. Cyrus deduced this must have been damage from the brown dragon's fight with the two new dragon slayers.

All three dragons were apparently unaware of his presence, since they were focused on talking to each other. Looking at the crowd for

Cyrus was grateful for this, he didn't want to bother the dragons, or interrupt their conversation. So, walking silently, he headed closer to the island's edge, about to fly away.

However, Cyrus was compelled to stop when a familiar voice called his name. "Hey, Cyrus!" Camo's squeaky little voice shouted. "Where are you going, buddy?" He asked cheerfully.

At that, Cyrus turned around, trying to put on a smile for his friend. However, when he did turn around his smile vanished instantly, replaced by a frightened, wide-eyed expression.

Cyrus was only able to see a flash of earthy brown scales and yellow horns before he felt what he imagined being hit by a battering ram felt like. Cyrus was sent sprawling back, landing roungly on the very edge of the isle. He quickly picked himself up and backed away from the edge.

"Bash, what are you doing!?" Camo demanded in a horrified tone.

At that, Cyrus turned around to face the brown dragon. Already, Bash was charging at Cyrus, his head low, aiming to ram him again.

In response to this, Cyrus tensed up. He stood on his hind legs and stretched out his paws, as if to catch something. _"This is going to hurt."_ He said to himself as he braced for impact.

And, just as predicted, the sensation of catching a hulking dragon's tackle was in no way pleasant for Cyrus. The impact knocked the air out of him and pushed him back, almost to the edge of the isle once again.

However, once there, Cyrus already had a tight grip on Bash's horns and was holding him in place. "I don't want… to hurt you," He said, his voice strained from the effort of keeping Bash still.

Bash didn't seem to care for Cyrus' words. He kept pushing, trying intently to push Cyrus off the isle. This made Cyrus realize, he had to do something, even if it meant taking more violent measures.

And so, even if it was with a heavy heart, Cyrus channeled his magic, causing his paws to glow blood red. When he did this, Cyrus began feeling a rush of vitality and energy course through his body. He felt stronger, less tired. He also noticed Bash started shaking, struggling to keep himself on his feet.

The brown dragon tried shaking Cyrus' grip off, but he held on tight and pushed his weakened opponent back, putting space between the both of them and the island's edge. Cyrus then deactivated his magic for a moment, and looked behind him. He then let out a relieved sigh, for he had managed to get the struggle away from the edge of the island.

Soon however, Cyrus found his relief being turned to a very unpleasant sensation of surprise that made his eye go round.

Cyrus felt Bash suddenly dash backwards and jerking his head violently which, coupled with Cyrus' momentary distraction, allowed the brown dragon to get himself free from Cyrus' grip. After this, Bash stepped back and got into a defensive stance keeping a very focused, narrow eyed glare on Cyrus.

At that, Cyrus glared back, holding Bash's gaze. The indigo dragon must have let a bit of his old loathing seep into his eyes, because he saw Bash flinch when he met his gaze, taking a step back from Cyrus and looking a bit uneasy.

"Guys!" Whirlwind called, causing Cyrus to glance over to her for a second, but quickly refocusing on Bash. "You can't fight each other! Bash, you're wounded if you keep this up you're only going to make the damage worse!"

"Yeah, what she said!" Camo stepped in. "Come on guys, just calm down!"

But the words spoken were not enough to put a stop to the conflict. Cyrus watched Bash lower his head again and start charging at him at full speed. Cyrus was quick to react and with a quick burst of speed from his wings, he dashed to the side, making Bash miss him completely.

After this, Cyrus dashed backwards, puting distance between himself and Bash. _"He's slower. Probably thanks to me."_ He thought to himself. _"And with his tail damaged, he is more predictable."_ He analyzed. As he saw Bash turn around and start lowering his head once again, Cyrus felt himself frown as his resolve cemented. _"I have to put an end to this."_ He concluded tensing up and getting ready.

A few moments after this, Bash charged at Cyrus once again, aiming to ram him. In response to this, Cyrus stayed still and held his arms out and waited.

When Bash crashed his weight onto him, Cyrus could notice the impact was significantly weaker than last time, a good sign for the indigo dragon. So, not wasting time, Cyrus got a grip on Bash's horns and channeled his magic, once again making his his paws glow red. At this, Bash let out a cold, shaky gasp before he crumbled to his knees. The brown dragon tried getting up but Cyrus kept his grip steady and pulled Bash down by the head, causing him to close his eyes and fall to the ground, knocked out.

At that, Cyrus silenced his magic and slowly placed Bash's head on the floor before letting go of his horns.

After this, there was a pause. No one moved an inch or said a word. Cyrus looked down at Bash's fallen figure, speechless. His heart was heavy, it ached in his chest. Cyrus had promised himself, had made Spyro promise as well, that no harm would come to these dragons, not after all he had done to them. And now here he was, looking down at one of them, freshly knocked out by his own paws.

Cyrus then looked at his paws, they were shaking, badly. He winced as the itch started crawling back into his forehead, writhing beneath his scales. Cyrus took a paw to his forehead and started scratching, slowly at first, but, as he realized what he had done meant, he started scratching faster.

" _What will the others think of this?"_ Cyrus asked himself, his mind racing just as fast as his heart. _"What will_ Spyro _think of this?"_ He wondered, his eyes widening as his pupils dilated. _"Will… will he hate me for this?"_ He asked, horrified at the idea, his breath becoming uneven as he covered his face with his free paw.

But then, a strange sound reached Cyrus' ears, making him freeze. He heard something that sounded like a short fit of coughs, but there was something off about them, a rhythm of sorts. Then, Cyrus heard the same fit of coughs, only louder, more energetic.

Cyrus looked down, to where the strange sounds were coming from. There, he saw Bash, eyes still closed, still on the ground, but smiling. A weak, mildly-strained smile tried sementing itself on the bron dragon's face, as another round of coughs, which were sounding more and more like chuckles, began emanating from his throat.

"That…" Bash began in a drowsy, stuned voice. "Was awesome." He said with a small chuckle.

At that, Cyrus reacted. "W-What?" He blurted, confused.

"That was… a good fight." Bash continued as Cyrus slowly lowered his paws. "We should… do that again some time." He suggested, opening one eye and looking up at Cyrus.

"For the love of the Ancients!" Whirlwind exclaimed, sounding both concerned and frustrated as she began rushing over to Bash. "That was your idea of a joke!?" She demanded as she kneeled down beside him and took a deep breath.

Soon after, the white horn on her head began glowing with bright white light. Then, from the horn, a small stream of multicoloured light began descending, gently connecting with Bash's body. As the stream of light kept coming, Bash let out a relieved sigh and slowly started trying to get on his feet. He groaned loudly as he did, but soon enough he managed to stand, cueing Whirlwind to stop her healing.

"Now guys," Camo spoke up as he walked over. "That was a cool fight and all, but… what was it about?" He asked, tentatively.

Cyrus looked over to Bash, also wanting answers. The brown dragon stared back, waiting a moment before responding. However, he spoke soon enough. "I trust you remember the day you went to capture me." He asked with serious tone.

At that, Cyrus' began seeing flashes of days past, causing him to furrow his brow and glance away. Of course he did remember that day, how could he forget?

"That day, you were not alone," Bash picked up. "You had two other pitch-black dragons to help you out in abducting me." He recalled. "That day, I watched you let someone else do your dirty work for you, and I ended up with me being enslaved by some mad man. Ever since that day I've thought of you as a coward and a selfish monster."

Cyrus tried keeping his composure. He kept a string face, but he was starting to suffer. Again, he wasn't being attacked, he wasn't bleeding, but he was hurting. The itch was back, his paws were shaking, his left eye was very, very subtly twitching.

"But then," Bash added suddenly. "I hear from one of the people I've come to respect most," He continued, making Cyrus wonder who he meant. "Tells me that _you_ , of all people, helped save someone and fought to protect people who loathed you, well, my whole view on who you were, was flipped on its head." He sighed.

"You know," Bash picked up. "There was something my old man used to say… _You never really know someone until you fight them_." He quoted. "He said that, when people fight, they let their true colors shine. The way they fight, how they try to win, even when they hold back or don't fight to their fullest, it says something about them. After what Spyro told me about you, I just had to find out for myself." He explained.

After this, Bash took a long hard look at Cyrus. He then let out one last sigh and spoke. "No one should be left without a chance to fix their mistakes," He began. "So, I for one, forgive you."

There was a brief pause, where Cyrus was unable to say or do anything. He just looked at Bash in stunned silence. The indigo dragon's heart stopped for a moment, and his eyes went wide. Cyrus' mind struggled to put together an adequate response to what he had just heard, and from the face Bash was making, it was starting to get a bit creepy.

"Th-Thanks." Was all the indigo dragon was able to blurt out.

Bash responded by giving him a firm nod and a polite smile.

"Sooo," Camo began, glancing between Bash and Cyrus. "Does that mean you guys are friends now?" He asked innocently.

"No, we're not quite there yet," Bash stated bluntly as he turned around and started walking away, leaving Cyrus and the others behind.

"Yeah, I guess that's fair," Camo conceded in a down tone. But then, Camo's face lit up and he quickly turned over to Bash. "Hey wait! Where are you going!?" He asked.

"To the Common room." Bash responded simply as he kept walking away.

"Ohhh right!" Camo exclaimed suddenly. "Guys, Spyro said Master Eon wanted to see everyone!" He stated.

"Really?" Whirlwind asked. "Did he say what it was about?" She questioned.

"Nop, just said it was important." Camo answered.

"Well, we shouldn't keep them waiting." Cyrus suggested. "I think I noticed something important about our enemies." He said, grimacing slightly, remembering the dreadful realization that had come to him during his fight with the dragon slayers.

"Really?" Camo asked, sounding intrigued. "What did you notice?" He asked, curious.

"I think it's best I tell Master Eon first," Cyrus stated. "So, again, we should get going now." He insisted as he began following the path Bash had taken.

"Alright," Camo began, running after Cyrus and cueing Whirlwind to follow. "Now I'm just curious."

The three dragons quickly took flight and headed over to the Academy courtyard. They flew over Bash and quickly got ahead of him, something Cyrus managed to notice made the brown dragon pick up speed as a frown built up on his face.

Soon enough, Cyrus flew over and touched down on the Courtyard beside his two companions, with the entrance to the common room a short distance ahead. He saw a few Skylanders walking around, heading elsewhere and not really minding him.

Cyrus then started walking toward the blue gates, however, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, for he heard his name called. "Hey, Cyrus!" A voice shouted.

When Cyrus turned around to see who had spoken, he saw a familiar deep blue dragon looking expectantly at him. Zap must have had arrived a few moments ago, since Cyrus hadn't seen him when he got here. The blue dragon had a nasty looking bruise near his chest, and a couple of band aids here and there.

And speaking of recent arrivals, Cyrus saw that Bash had also made his way to the courtyard. The brow dragon seemed to be interested in what was about to happen between Zap and Cyrus, since he kept his distance but looked quite attentive.

Cyrus was rather curious about the blue dragon's intentions as well, so, he focused on him and spoke. "Yes, Zap?" He began, speaking in a polite tone.

The blue dragon kept his eyes on Cyrus for a moment, he then swallowed hard and puffed out his chest. "I want to say something." He stated simply, pausing.

Cyrus felt his eyelids droop as his eyebrows rose and an almost instinctive urge to satisfy a cruel habit swelled up within him. "You just did." Cyrus said sarcastically.

The cutting response, seemed to take Zap by surprise. The blue dragon opened his mouth and raised a paw, as if he wanted to argue, however, he stopped himself before he could say anything.

Then, Zap cleared his throat and seemed to rethink his words. "I mean, I need to speak to you about something." He corrected himself, glancing to his sides nervously.

At that, Cyrus stayed quiet and listened in more eagerly as Zap resumed. "I heard how you helped Spyro fight those two psychos," He began, scratching the back of his neck. "That was… a pretty decent thing to do." He said, in reluctant praise. "For an ex-villian." He added quickly.

Cyrus wasn't really sure of how to interpret what Zap had just said. The indigo dragon was more confused than moved, so he just spoke casually. "Thank you?"

Cyrus must have spoken in a more mocking tone than he meant, because Zap pursed his lips and seemed to get annoyed. "You know," He began, sounding pouty. "You should drop the sarcasm man, it's not going to get you anywhere." He stated as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Cyrus acted by reflex, his mind already stringing up a derisive comeback. "Are you sure about that?" Cyrus began, unable to stop himself. "Because it _did_ get me to the Skylands Sarcasm Championship of 2012." He stated.

At that, Zap's eyes went round and his eyebrows shot up. He stared silently at Cyrus for a moment as he let his arms fall to his sides. "Are… a-are you serious?" He asked, in an astounded tone.

"No." Cyrus replied with a perfectly straight face.

After this, Cyrus felt a guilty urge to laugh. The speed at which Zap's expresion changed from good-natured surprise to frustrated embarrassment was priceless.

And then, Cyrus heard a sound he didn't exactly expect to hear. He head laughter, a low, happy chuckle coming from none other than Bash. The brown dragon was chuckling to himself, very

"Alright, alright," Bash began after he caught his breath and lifted his head, looking at Cyrus. " _Now_ we're friends." He said with another, smaller chuckle.

At that, Cyrus smiled, not a spiteful derisive smile like the one he was holding back from giving Zap, but a small, happy one. He was very glad he made another friend. The idea was still foreign to him, so Cyrus was unable to keep his usual composure.

"Aw come on!" Zap groaned. "All it took for him to become your friend was dragging on me!?" He demanded as he turned around and looked at Bash.

"That's the minimum requirement to be my friend." Bash responded with a smug smirk.

"Really?" Camo began, holding his chin. "So, if I make a snarky comment about Zap, you and I can be friends?" He asked Bash.

"Yeah, pretty much." Bash responded.

"Dude!" Zap exclaimed, undignified. "We shared a bunk bed! I thought we were friends!"

"Guys," Whirlwind interjected suddenly, making everyone snap into focus. "I think we had something important to do," She stated as she gestured at the Academy building.

"Right, of course." Cyrus said as he cleared his throat. "We've wasted enough time, this is probably urgent." He assumed.

"Yeah, alright," Zap sighed as he began walking over to the blue doors. "I actually have a couple of… concerns I'd like to have put at ease." "He said, scratching the back of his head.

After this, Cyrus and the others walked up to the blue doors and pushed them open. Once the five dragons were inside the spacious common room, they were faced with a somber scene.

Cyrus saw Kaossandra sitting behind her desk, her hands on her temples and leaning over her desk. He saw Master Eon's faintly glowing figure floating beside her, with his hands behind his back and his eyes closed, his head hung down slightly. Cyrus also saw Cynder sitting on her hind legs in front of Kaossandra's desk, looking down an her paws.

And finally, Cyrus saw his brother. Spyro was sitting on his hind legs looking up at the two portal masters in front of him. Cyrus noticed that his brother's eyes were drooped, that his usual, wide smile was gone and that his wings were hanging at his sides. Cyrus felt heavier just by laying eyes on his brother, because he felt like he was looking at a mirror.

However, Spyro slowly turned his head over to the side. At that, Cyrus managed to meet Spyro's eyes, and he noticed that they lit up, alongside his expression. "Cyrus?" He called his brother's name.

After this, Spyro got up and walked over to Cyrus. The purple dragon then threw his arms around Cyrus' body, encasing him in a hug. Cyrus let out a small gasp and stiffened when this happened. The sudden contact was like an assault on his senses, his nerves were telling him this was uncomfortable, painful. It made his breathing become shaky.

Spyro seemed to sense this however, because it took only a moment for the purple dragon to loosen up the embrace, decreasing the pressure. Then, slowly, Cyrus' body began to realize that he wasn't in pain, that the contact he was receiving wasn't harmful, but kind, relieved. And so, Cyrus began to relax and breath normally. And after this, Cyrus moved his arms putting them on Spyro's back, finally returning the hug.

"I'm happy you're alright." Spyro said in a soft tone as he slowly pulled away from the hug and looked at his brother.

"It takes more than that to kill me," Cyrus replied with a small smirk. "You should know that by now." He sneered.

At that, Spyro rolled his eyes and nudged Cyrus on the shoulder. "Well, it's a good thing you are all here," Spyro stated, turning his head to the others. "We have a lot to talk about." He said in a more serious tone.

"Guys," Cynder spoke up, drawing Cyrus' attention to her. "Master Eon and Kaossandra have some insight on the two dragon slayers," She stated. "We should hear them out."

"Yes please," Zap interjected, walking over to the two portal masters. "I would really like to know more about those two." He said as he sat on his hind legs and waited for his answers.

"But wait," Camo spoke up. "Where are Sunburn and Drobot? Don't they need to hear about this too?"

"Drobot and Sunburn got the worse out of the fight with the dragon slayers," Whirlwind stated in a low tone. "They were hurt pretty bad and had to stay on the infirmary, probably for at least another day." She explained, looking down at her paws.

"Oh," Camo began, sounding surprised. The little green dragon then looked down and darkened slightly. "Oh." He repeated, in a much more somber tone.

There was a brief pause after that, where everyone stayed silent. Cyrus realized the sheer amount of luck they all must have had to get out of that fight with no one dying. He was grateful, beyond what words could express, but it was also a very rough wake up call. These people, these monsters weren't playing around and there was no telling what was going to happen next time.

"Well, we should probably get started now," Spyro picked up, snapping everyone into focus and turning over ot the two portal masters. "So, Master Eon, Kaossandra, what do you guys need to know?" He asked.

At that, Kaossandra let out a long sigh as she composed herself and lifted her gaze at the dragons. "According to the description Spyro and Cynder gave us," She began, glancing between all dragons present. "We can be certain that the two villains you fought were indeed dragon slayers, and just the ones they claimed to be." She confirmed.

"They were always a sort of dynamic duo," Master Eon interjected. "Back in the Coven's glory days, their teamwork made them capable of handling very powerful dragons."

"Including purple dragons, apparently." Spyro muttered under his breath, an edge of spite in his voice.

"Yes," Master Eon confirmed, a sorrowfull look on his face. "Even purple dragons, a feat not every dragon slayer back then was able to pull off, and that functions as a testament of the threat those two pose when they work together." He added.

"They kept talking about how we _tasted_ ," Cynder spoke suddenly. "And how they wanted our teeth." She added, in a shakier voice as she grabbed one of her cheeks, and rubbed it softly, her body shaking subtly.

Cyrus noticed that Spyro edged closer to Cynder, covering her partly with one of his wings, something that seemed to soothe the dragoness a little bit.

"Yes, Krall and Tarrare were some of the more sadistic dragon slayers of their time," Master Eon began explaining. "Tarrare on one hand, was recognized among his peers, as an extraordinary cook, capable of cooking _meals worthy of kings_ ," He quoted the last words with disgust. "His specialty, aligned perfectly with his line of work. Dragon meat Bourguignon."

"Krall on the other hand," The portal master picked up. "Was more of a collector. He had a hobby of collecting rare and useful trinkets and materials." He explained. "After he joined the Coven, he also acquired an interest for dragon body parts, especially the teeth. A cruel, irrational obsession of his."

"Why do they hate us so much!?" Whirlwind asked in a frightened voice, stepping forward, almost beside Cyrus. "What did we ever do to them?" She asked, shaking slightly, similarly to Cynder, even hanging her head a bit.

When Cyrus noticed this, he felt a strange sensation. He remembered what Spyro had done to Cynder when she started shaking like that. _"Maybe…"_ He thought, as he began to slowly stretch one of his wings. However, before he could even stretch his wing halfway, Cyrus stopped himself. _"N-No... it wouldn't be right."_ Cyrus told himself as he pulled his wing back, feeling a peculiar mix of stupidity and confusion as to why he acted that way..

"You have done nothing wrong, young dragoness," Master Eon assured Whirlwind. "I've told you before that you are not to blame. These monsters bear a hatred too intense to be rational."

"It was practically a miracle you all survived that battle," Kaossandra stepped in, calling everyone's attention. "And I'm not entirely sure I understand what that miracle was." She said, pausing for a moment. Cyrus also noticed that the sorceress focused on Spyro before she resumed talking. "You said you fired a stream of, _bright, multi colored flames,_ " She entonated with narrow eyes, as if she wanted to get confirmation from Spyro. "That were able to deal real damage to the dragon slayers?"

"Not just me though," Spyro began. "Camo was able to do the same thing!" He said, pointing at the green dragon.

"He's right!" Camo exclaimed, taking a step forward. "And our chests started glowing too!" He stated. "And also, I think one of them called those flames something," He stated, intriguing Cyrus. "I think it was, _Sternenfeuer_ ," He said the strange word. "I think it means something like, _starfire,_ " He translated.

"Starfire?" Master Eon repeated, stroking his bread. "I don't believe I've heard of something like that."

"I have." Cyrus stated simply, his memory suddenly jogged by his new friend.

"You have!?" Master Eon, Camo, Kaossandra asked in surprised unison. "Well, could you enlighten us please?" The elder portal master asked eagerly, leaning closer to Cyrus.

Cyrus was a little reluctant to speak, since there were a few implications and other, darker memories that were attached to the information he was about to tell everyone. However, looking at the importance of the mater, Cyrus took a deep breath and spoke steadily.

"It's an old kind of magic," Cyrus began. "It's actually… the same kind that…" His voice trailed off, an uncomfortable itch manifesting in his forehead.

"What is it, man?" Spyro asked in a mellow tone, stepping closer to Cyrus.

The indigo dragon looked at his brother, and a stab of guilt settled in his heart as he mustered the will to speak. "It's the same kind of magic Omen was planning on using you all for." He declared, closing his eyes for a moment.

There was a pause, a moment for the weight of his words to settle. After this pause, Cyrus opened his eyes and continued. "Just like the spell he wanted to use, this _Starfire_ requires a dragon of each one of the essential elements to cast. It's supposed to be extremely powerful, and could explain why you were able to hurt them."

"But wait," Cynder suddenly spoke up, drawing Cyrus' attention. "Why does it take magic super-fire to hurt these guys? What are they even supposed to be?" She asked, fear vaguely resonating in her tone.

Cyrus began thinking of how to explain. He pursed his lips and looked away, absentmindedly scratching the side of his chest as he thought for a moment. Then, with his words rehearsed, he replied.

"When I met Vixen," He began, recalling the pale, fox-like dragon slayer form the Outskirts. "I had a suspicion, but I wasn't able to confirm it until I fought these new guys." He explained. "The signs are all there, on all three of them." He stated.

"W-What signs?" Whirlwind asked from behind Cyrus.

"Black tar for blood," Cyrus began. "A cruel cold presence, no signs of pain or fatigue and the ability to live for a hundred years." He listed. "All three dragon slayers had these traits," He said. "And there is only one kind of creature that has those traits." He stated.

"W-What creature?" Zap asked in a nervous tone.

Cyrus took a moment to answer. Even saying their name made him get cold chills. "When a person dies," He began. "Their soul goes to a diferent place. No one really knows what this place is, since everyone has a diferent name for it." He continued explaining. "But, there are some people that, when their time comes, refuse to leave this world. They are too angry, too wounded to let whatever happened to them slide. So, they _force_ themselves back into their bodies, _force_ themselves back to life."

Cyrus paused for a moment, he had started shaking, very lightly but he had built up an urge to swallow and the chills were getting worse. "When they do this, this perversion of life and death, those people, stop being people." He continued. "They turn into these… creatures, that don't need to eat, don't need to drink and don't need to sleep. They run on nothing but rage and hatred and don't ever stop until they get what they mangled their souls to get." He said, his voice smeared with fear.

"They are called, Draugr," Cyrus stated, shuddering as he did. "And I'm not entirely sure they can even be killed."

"What?" Spyro exclaimed suddenly, stepping closer to Cyrus. "What do you mean they can't be killed?" He asked desperately.

"Ohhh, but they _can_ be!" A new voice, which Cyrus found squeaky and annoying, echoed through the room.

The voice had come from the balcony overlooking the common room. Cyrus looked up to see a small, green figure with a huge dark green afro, looking down at him from behind the golden railing on the balcony.

"Broccoli Guy," Spyro hissed at the green creature. "Do you have something to say?" He demanded.

"Yes, actually," Broccoli Guy confirmed as he vaulted over the gold railing and floated down to level with the dragons and portla masters. "I was about to tell you guys that there is a way to deal with draugr." He stated, smiling strangely as he did.

"Really?" Master Eon asked. "What would that be?"

"Well, the Starfire, duh!" Broccoli Guy responded jokingly, chuckleing nasally.

"Hey, vegetable," Spyro called in a dangerous tone. "Watch your tone." He growled.

"Right, right, I apologise," Broccoli Guy apologised, in a suspiciously unconvincing tone. "But anyways, draugr have a very short list of weaknesses," He began explaining. "Buuuut, they are vulnerable to the pure, elemental awesomeness of Starfire." He stated with enthusiasm.

"I mean," Camo spoke up suddenly. "When Spyro and I hit them with it, they started turning to stone." He stated. "Maybe it _is_ their weakness."

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying!" Broccoli Guy said merrily. "Thank you, I'm gonna stand beside you now." He said as he floated over to Camo, making the little dragon slide away in discomfort before he started speaking again. "So, I think that if you guys-" Broccoli Guy gestured at the many dragons. "-Use this Starfire-thing you can beat those broccoli-eating creeps!" He said cheerfully.

"But how do we even activate this thing?" Zap asked. "Other than you and Mister Eyebags over here-" He said, gesturing at Cyrus. "-None of us even knew what it was to begin with!"

"Hmmmm." Broccoli guy entonated as he looked up and began tapping his chin. "Hmmmm." He entonated again, louder. "Hmmmm."

"Oh come on!" Spyro suddenly exclaimed. "Do you know how it works or not!?"

"Geez, someone's cranky," Broccoli Guy said defensively, backing away slowly from Spyro. "Okay, so I don't really know how this whole thing works," Broccoli Guy admitted. " _But_ -" He entonated loudly, pointing staring at Spyro. "-I do know that it's for real. If you are able to pull this thing off again, I'm almost sure you can win." He promised. "The problem's gonna be finding out what triggers it, and from what I can tell-" He paused, putting his stubby hands on his chest. "-You guys can't exactly go and do test runs on the dragon slayers, right?"

"No kidding," Spyro snaped. "But now that you told us all of this, I think it's time we sent you back to where you belong." He said, walking over to Broccoli Guy.

"Yeah, you've got an appointment at Cloudcracker prison," Cynder stepped in. "I'm sure you Doom Raider buddies are missing you."

"W-wait, hold your horses now," Broccoli Guy started up nervously. "You still need me, your friends are still pretty beaten up, I can heal them." He offered.

"You're not the only one with healing magic," Whirlwind interjected. "I can take-"

The cyan dragoness was cut off by the low, ascending sound of laughter. This sudden burst of obnoxious giggles and snickering was coming from Broccoli Guy, who was bent over laughing.

"W-What's so funny!?" Whirlwind demanded angrily.

At that, Broccoli began to compose himself, wiping away tears of laughter from his eyes. "Oh, dear, that was funny. So, let me get this straight, you think _you_ -" He gestured at Whirlwind. "-Can do a better job at healing your friends than _me,_ a professional-" He said, gesturing at himself dramatically. "-With that stupid horn of yours?" He pointed accusingly at Whirlwind's white horn.

At that, Whirlwind visibly lost her composure. She stepped back from Broccoli Guy and looked away, covering her horn with one of her wings. Cyrus had seen her do that before, like a reflex, a sign she was hurt.

"Hey!" Zap yelled at Broccoli Guy. "Take that back!"

"Oh come on!" Broccoli Guy snapped back. "Don't even _pretend_ to care. There hasn't been a dragon since the dawn of time that's been willing to stick their neck out for a unicorn!" He argued.

At that, Zap looked a little taken back he stammered and glanced away. "Y-You don't know what you're-"

"Aw please, I thought good guys were supposed to be _honest_!" Broccoli Guy said with more energy. "You don't care about her! None of you do!" He stated, pointing at the other dragons in the room.

"Broccoli Guy!" Kaossandra roared suddenly, immediately silencing the green Doom Raider. "As painful as it is to admit, your healing skills are necessary to help heal our new recruits," She spoke, with tangible distaste. "So, you will stay in the Academy for now." She said.

"What!?" Spyro exclaimed. "Kaossandra, you can't-"

"That's final, Spyro!" The sorceress declared, silencing Spyro as well. "Now, you-" She hissed at Broccoli guy. "-Get out of my sight and make yourself useful." She barked, making the Doom Raider slowly back away, floating past the dragons and over to the blue gates.

"And Broccoli Guy," Kaossandra called just as Broccoli Guy was about to exit the common room, causing him to stop and look back for a moment. "If you ever talk to one of my students like that again, I'll send you to Cloudcracker prison, covered in colored wrapping as Wolfgang's chew toy." She threatened.

At that, Broccoli Guy swallowed and spoke shakily. "Y-Yes ma'am." With that, the Doom Raider exited the room, heading over to the infirmary.

Other than the sound of Kaossandra letting out a low, tired sigh as she leaned back into her chair, there was silence.

Cyrus was tense, agitated. He felt like he wanted to punch something, or well, not just something. He had a very particular face in mind. " _Can I kill him?_ " He whispered to Spyro,.

" _Later._ " Spyro whispered back in a frustrated tone.

"H-He," Camo spoke in a low tone. "He was wrong Whirlwind, we- we do care about you." He promised.

Whirlwind didn't respond to the small dragon's words, she just looked down at her paws, still partly hiding her face with her wings.

"I think Whirlwind needs some time alone, Camo," Kaossandra said in a sad tone. "It's alright dear," She added, addressing Whirlwind. "You can go if you want to." She said in a kind tone.

At that, Whirlwind moved to leave, turning around and walking toward the exit. She didn't say a word as she pushed the doors open and let them close behind her, disappearing from the scene.

"Well," Zap began in a low tone. "I feel like trash." He said selfloathingly.

"Like really stinky trash." Camo added, wiping imaginary filth off his shoulders.

"Same." Bash agreed, his head low.

"What was all of that even about!?" Spyro asked, sounding angry. "What did Broccoli Guy mean by _Don't pretend to care_?" He demanded, a question Cyrus was also very interested on having answered. Both dragons looked expectantly at Eon and Kaossandra, waiting for their answer.

"Spyro," Master Eon spoke. "The bitter rivalry between Unicorns and Dragons, is an ancestral one, dating back to times far before the Great War." He narrated.

"Ever since then," Kaossandra continued. "Both races have hated each other. They pass down that disdain to their children, and then, they do the same to their children, fostering a generational loop of envy and despise." She explained, rubbing her temples and closing her eyes.

"I've never even heard of this, _rivalry_ ," Cyrus stated. "What does it even have to do with Whirlwind?" He asked eagerly.

"From what I can tell," Kaossandra began. "Whirlwind is half-dragon-half-unicorn, hybrid, quite possibly the first of her kind." She explained. "This has most likely caused her quite a bit of trouble in regards to fitting in with either of her parent's species." She stated, giving Cyrus an answer, even if it was an unplesant one.

"When I found Spyro," Eon picked up. "I raised him far away from any grudges his ancestry might weigh on him." He explained. "I did my best to groom him to be a hero who looked past the petty prejudice his kind fostered." He added, looking over to Spyro, giving him a small, proud smile. "And, from what I can tell-" He resumed, turning over to Cyrus, a look of pity in his face. "-Even if he treated you like a tool more so than a child, Omen kept you away from this prejudice as well."

Cyrus frowned at that commentary. "Well, I suppose being raised by a phycopath _does_ have its perks after all." He snapped.

"Cyrus," Spyro called, putting a paw on Cyrus' shoulder. "That's not what he meant." He said softly.

Cyrus looked over at his brother, then back at Master Eon. He knew the portal master didn't mean what Cyrus' mind had twisted his words into meaning. It just hurt, and ever since Cyrus could remember, when something hurt, he just reacted.

"I'm sorry," Cyrus apologised, taking a low bow before Master Eon. "I mean no offence." He said, keeping his head low.

"I know young dragon," Master Eon sain in a patient tone. "I should have known better than to try vouching for _any_ of Omen's deeds. The intent behind them was far from benevolent either way." He added with his spite for Omen clear in his tone.

"In any case," Master Eon picked up. "Being part unicorn part dragon in probably a most unpleasant predicament, yet, it is one beyond Whirlwind's power to do anything about." He stated. "I believe that it would help, not only her, but yourselves, if you could all put this ancient grudge behind you and try to help Whirlwind, in any manner you find yourselves capable of." He suggested.

At hearing those words, an idea clicked into place in Cyrus' mind. He raised an eyebrow as he thought it through in his head. He refrained from smiling, for he feared it might reveal the malignity behind his thoughts. Soon however, Cyrus' attention was drawn to the sound of voices other than his those in his thoughts.

"Of course," Bash spoke up to Master Eon's request, sounding honest in his intent. "I'll try to do better."

"We all will." Zap added, sounding just as sincere.

"Yeah!" Camo promised enthusiastically.

"That's good to hear," Kaossandra began with a small smile. "But don't go hunt her down and overwhelm her just yet," She warned. "These kinds of things take a bit of time." She stated.

"And speaking of taking some time," Master Eon picked up. "I believe you all have some recovering to do." He said, looking over to the bruised and bandaged dragons.

"Yeah, we do don't we?" Zap said nervously, absentmindedly picking at a loosened band-aid on his cheek.

"Well alright," Spyro spoke up suddenly. "I suppose the Skylands still need protecting." He said with partially risen spirits.

"That they do," Kaossandra spoke up. "So, get moving people, the faster you all heal the faster we can move to handle these new dragon slayers." She stated.

After this, Cyrus and the others began moving to head out of the common room. When the many dragons left the room, Cyrus could see that Zap and Bash started heading off to the infirmary, indeed planning on getting better faster. Cyrus also noticed that Camo tagged along, running after the two larger dragons with a wide smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Cyrus saw Spyro stand beside Cynder, the two talking to each other. The duo were a bit far away, so he couldn't really understand what they were saying, however, he did managed to catch Cynder saying something like: "We need to talk, please."

The dragoness looked at Spyro with a concerned expression when she said those words, something that made Spyro nod at her understandingly. However, before the purple dragon left off, he turned around, facing Cyrus.

"Hey, man." He called, a small, warm smile on his face.

"Hey." Cyrus replied, smiling back.

"I have to talk with Cynder for a moment," Spyro explained, looking back at the violet dragoness for a moment. "What are you going to do?" He asked as he looked back at Cyrus.

Cyrus though his answer through for a moment. "I'll go take a walk." He lied, in part, convincingly enough to avoid his brother's suspicions anyways.

"Well, in that case," Spyro picked up, patting Cyrus gently on the shoulder. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Cyrus agreed, his smile growing just a little bit. "See you later."

With that, Spyro backed away from his brother, waving him goodby before walking over to Cynder, who also waved goodby to Cyrus. As Cyrus returned the courtesy and watched the two dragons take flight to a more private location, he decided to get moving himself.

Cyrus had a rather personal task to tend to, one that would need someone he didn't quite like to do something a bit, humiliating. Hee smiled, a smirk that might have betrayed the questionable morality of what he planned on doing, had someone see him.

However, Cyrus wasn't stressed about his little task, he knew himself to be quite _persuasive_.

* * *

Spyro was flying beside Cynder over the Academy grounds. The two dragons headed over to Spyro's house, which quickly appeared in the horizon after they had flown far enough. Once the two were close enough, Spyro and Cynder touched down, one after the other.

They looked to be alone in the island, something they were both grateful for.

After scanning the area, Spyro let out a low sigh and turned to face Cynder. "Well, what did you want to talk about?" He asked tentatively, taking a few steps closer to his friend.

Cynder looked a little uneasy. She wasn't meeting Spyro's eyes and fidgeting with her paws.

"Cynder," Spyro called softly. "You can tell me." He said.

At that, the violet dragoness finally looked up at him. Spyro noticed there was a worried look on her eyes, something that concerned him. However, after taking a small breath, Cynder spoke.

"Spyro," She began. "I remember you told me, that these dragon slayers, weren't like the other villains we fought." She said. "That no one else had scared you like them."

Spyro reluctantly called forth awful memories of Vixen and the dragon slayers ha had fought recently. "It's…" Spyro stammered, the image of Vixen's dead, red eye burning itself onto his subconscious. "It's difficult to explain. Anything I feel when I'm around them, feels, _diferent,_ " He struggled. "More, more-"

"Intense," Cynder finished for him. "Less watered down. It's almost like you just _know_ what to feel." She described, almost exactly what Spyro was trying to express. "And it's just really unsettling that what you know you should feel is _fear_ ," She entonated, hugging herself. "How are we supposed to fight something we can't help but be afraid of, Spyro?" She asked, her voice shaky.

" _You can't"_ A dark voice in the back of Spyro's head spat. _"You know you can't."_ The voice added spitefully.

Spyro shook his head and focused, shutting the voice out.

He then opened his eyes and looked at Cynder. She was shaking, very subtly, but enough for Spyro to notice, and enough for him to resolve to do something about it. So, he took a step forward and sat on his hind legs in front of Cynder. He then slowly grabed Cynder's paws, squeezing them gently. He heard Cynder let out a small gasp when he did this, but Spyro kept his eyes on Cynder's paws, he liked how they fit in his own.

"I _am_ afraid of them," Spyro confessed. "They want to hurt a lot of people that I care about," He said, holding Cynder's paws just a little tighter. "And I wasn't able to stop them from doing it before. But, I think I learned something." He said, cracking a small smile.

"W-What's that?" Cynder asked softly.

At that, Spyro lifted his head and faced Cynder. Looking into her wide, cerulean blue eyes only cemented what he was about to say. "I have to much to protect to not do anything to stop them," He stated in a steady tone. "I have to protect them," He said, pictureing his new friends. "I have to protect my brother," He stated, pictureing Cyrus. "And… I have to protect you." He finished, giving Cynder a warm smile.

At that, Cynder smiled back and Spyro could feel her tighten her hold on his paws. "I have to protect you too silly," She said as she nuzzled the tip of his snout. "You're too brave for your own good." She said.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Spyro replied with a smirk, causing Cynder to let out a small giggle.

Afterwards, the two of them stayed quiet for a moment, gazing at each other. Spyro could feel his heart beat a little faster as he held Cynder's gaze.

 _"Are we done here?"_ The voice suddenly complained, irritating Spyro to the point of accidentaly frowning at Cynder.

"Oh, sorry," Spyro spoke quickly. "Something got inside my nose." He lied simply, letting go of one of Cynder's paws to pick his nose for effect.

"It's alright," Cynder replied calmly. "I actually just remembered something!" She stated, her eyes going round. "Undead Book club!" She exclaimed, leting go of Spyro and taking her paws to her head. "Hex asked me to get the book for tomorrow's session!" She explained.

"Oh, well then you should go get it!" Spyro stated. "Skull will never stop sulking about it if you don't." He said, remembering the familiar's irritable demeanor. "Besides…" Spyro added, darkening slightly. "I have someone to talk to." He said, looking to the side, a frown returning to his face.

"W-Well," Cynder began a little shakily. "You go do that, and I'll… I'll see you later, okay" She proposed mellowly.

"Yeah, of course," Spyro replied, turning his frown into a smile for his friend. "See you later." She promised, just a few moments before, with a powerful beat of her wings, she flew off, leaving Spyro alone… with his thoughts.

Spyro didn't plan on stalling. The purple dragon quickly made his way to his house, walking in a brisk pace. When he was faced with his door, he swung it open and crossed through.

" _Someone's in a bad mood."_ The voice sneered, making the frown on Spyro's face grow more pronounced.

"Shut up." Spyro snapped, his voice echoing slightly throughout his home's empty living room.

The purple dragon made his way up his house stairs, up to his room. There, as he was sliding his door open, the voice spoke again. _"Did I step in at a bad time?"_ It asked with mock-concern as Spyro stepped into his room. _"Cuz, you have to admit, that looked pretty cheesy, or it did to me at least."_ It said with a cruel chuckle.

"Shut up!" Spyro shouted, as he swung his room's door shut. Resting his weight against it.

Spyro had a headache, his ears were ringing and his body was tensed up. "What do you think you're you doing?" He asked, in a low, serious tone.

" _Ohhh no,"_ The voice began. _"If you want to talk to me, you have to do it to my face."_ It stated.

"I don't want to talk to you." Spyro snapped as he turned around, and started walking toward the mirror on the opposite side of the room, the one he'd turned against the wall.

" _Maybe not,"_ The voice began, just as Spyro placed his paws on the tall mirror. _"But you're gonna."_ The voice finished maliciously, causing Spyro to freeze for a moment.

Spyro clutched the metal frame of his mirror tightly. He could feel the cold. smooth surface of the crystal on the tips of his claws. He knew what was going to happen, he knew who was waiting for him on the flip side of this mirror. There was no point in delaying it.

And so, taking a deep breath to steady himself, eyes closed, Spyro pulled the mirror, flipping it over, aiming the crystal surface to himself. He then stepped back, taking another deep breath. As he let out a long exhale, Spyro opened his eyes and faced the image in front of him head on.

It was his reflection, sitting on its hind legs, just like him, on an empty room, just like him. The image had his same body, his same face and his same fiery red eyes, staring back at him.

But there was something off. There was a malevolent glint in those eyes, something that betrayed the fact the image in the mirror wasn't really Spyro. Well, that and the fact the reflection had pale silver horns and jet black scales.

"So," Dark Spyro began, a mocking smirk on his face. "Didya miss me?" He asked, stretching out his arms and puffing out his chest.

"I don't think I can tell you how much I _haven't_ missed you," Spyro replied dryly.

"Ouch, harsh." Dark Spyro replied in a mock-hurt tone.

"What do you want?" Spyro asked, sounding irritated.

At that, Dark Spyro seemed to simmer down. His arrogant smile faded and he composed himself a bit. He looked at Spyro for a moment, his red eyes scanning the purple dragon.

He then took a deep breath and put his paws together. "How do I put this?" Dark Spyro began. "Lets see, ever since you had that great moment of, _heroic revelation-_ " He entonated derisively. "-To shove me back into that scrawny little body of yours instead of finishing the job," He paused. "You've put me in a very uncomfortable situation." He stated.

"Oh, so you would have liked me to _kill_ you back then? Is that it?" Spyro demanded angrily.

He had no reason to have spared his dark doppelganger's the day his friends broke him free of his control and the implication that was a mistake pissed Spyro off more than he thought it would.

"Noooo, of course not," Dark Spyro assured. "I just looove being trapped in someone else's head. Yours has a whole lot of empty space! It's quite comfy!" He joked cruelly, making Spyro clench his jaw.

"Look," Dark Spyro picked up in a very serious tone, "What I am trying to say is: If you die-" He pointed at Spyro through the mirror's glass. "I die." He gestured at himself. "And the way you keep testing these dragon slayer _psychos_ ," He entonated. "That's bound to happen sooner or later."

At that, Spyro realized something. Faint memories in the back of his mind began piecing themselves together into a realization. "It was you," Spyro began, a small smile pulling at his lips. "You were that little voice in my head telling me to run away all along, weren't you?" Spyro asked.

At that, Dark Spyro just frowned and crossed his arms.

"Huh," Spyro began. "I didn't know you were a coward." He said with a smug smirk.

Dark Spyro didn't seem to like that. He growled and bared his teeth, and spoke in an impatient tone. "You are going to get yourself killed," He hissed. "And I don't plan on letting you drag me down with you." He declared.

"Oh really?" Spyro began, crossing his arms over his chest. "And how are you going to do that?" He asked daringly, feeling confident.

As Spyro held his dark counterpart's gaze, he felt his confidence drain slowly. He saw Dark Spyro's expression change insidiously, from an irritated frown, to a thin, cruel grin.

"It doesn't matter how," He stated simply. "We both know I'm going to do it," He said calmly, making Spyro flinch. "And you know, I've noticed you've made a whole lot of new friends," He said dangerously. "I'd love to get to know them."

"Watch it." Spyro snapped, unnerved at the idea his counterpart was implying.

"I would also really like get to know our new brother!" Dark Spyro said with malicious excitement. "He looks like the kind of guy I'd get along with."

"Shut. Up." Spyro commanded, clenching his fists, his body shaking, fire burning in his chest.

"Oh and Cynder," Dark Spyro added with fake-sounding delight. "I know I sounded a bit unenthusiastic before but, she looks great!" He said, licking his lips maliciously.

" _Shut up!"_ Spyro roared as his body moved by itself out of rage.

The purple dragon slammed his fist against the smooth crystal of the mirror, creating a large, winding web of cracks and breaks throughout its surface.

Pain pulsed through Spyro's fist. He could feel the cold, sharp edges of the glass shards pressing against his scales, his paw throbbing from the impact. His breathing had quickened, and gotten heavier. He was looking at the wooden floor beneath him, where he could see his other paw, balled up into a fist so tightly his whole arm was shaking.

"I won't let you hurt them," Spyro said steadily. "I promise you, if you try…" He paused as he lifted his head and stared at the image of his counterpart through the cracked glass. "You won't have to worry about being trapped in my head." He threatened with a stern frown.

At this, Dark Spyro remained silent, for a moment. "We'll see." He said, a thin smile spreading through the shattered image of his face. "We'll see." He repeated as the image of his dark visaige shimmering under the fragile shards of the shattered mirror.

The the image cleared up, Spyro found himself staring back at himself, at his own face. His scales were purple his horns were golden and his expression was that of exhaustion.

Spyro then let out a low sigh as he lowered his fist. "We'll see." He whispered in a defeated tone.

* * *

Broccoli Guy was floating through the isles on Skylander Academy grounds. The small green Doom Raider had a grumpy little frown and muttered under his breath as he made his way to the Academy Infirmary.

"Stupid dragons," He grumbled. "Stupid Whirlwind, stupid Kaossandra. They can't just ship me back to Cloudcracker Prison like some crate of bad vegetables!" He told himself as he passed by a row of shadowy trees.

"I'll show them," He said as he stepped over the shadow the leaves above him cast. "I'll show them all!" He promised, waving his green arm in the air.

"Show them what?" A quiet, slightly raspy voice sounded suddenly, coming from behind Broccoli Guy.

At that, Broccoli Guy turned around, and opened his eyes wide, looking for whoever had spoken. However, he saw no one, nothing other than the trunks of the trees nearby. Whoever had spoken was not there anymore. Even so, Broccoli Guy could feel a tiny drop of sweat trailing down his temple. So, as he wiped the sweat off, Broccoli Guy turned back around.

When he did this, Broccoli Guy let out a shrill, high-pitched scream as he jumped back in fright.

Now standing in front of him, was a dark purple dragon. Broccoli Guy had heard not the sound of steps or wingbeats, this dragon might as well have appeared out of thin air. That, coupled with the fact the indigo dragon was glaring at him with a pair of venomous, snake-like, green eyes, while he kept a perfectly expressionless face, was more than enough to make Broccoli Guy's teeth clatter.

"Y-You're Spyro's brother," Broccoli Guy stammered. "C-C-Cyrus, was it?" He tried sounding friendly.

"I'll cut to the chase," Cyrus began, stepping closer to Broccoli Guy, not paying any mind to his words and causing him to float backwards, toward one of the trees nearby. "I want you to apologise." He stated simply.

"A-Apologise?" Broccoli Guy asked just as he felt his back touch the rough bark of the tree behind him. "Apologise for what?"

"Not for what," Cyrus started as he loomed over Broccoli Guy. "But _to whom_." He corrected.

At that, Broccoli Guy's eyes went round. "Ohhhh, really!?" He exclaimed. "You can't be serious, this is about the half unicorn girl?" He asked. "Come on man, we both know you don't really care about what happens to-"

"I'm going to give you a chance to apologise for your behaviour," Cyrus interrupted, speaking in a severe tone, all while keeping his toxic green eyes fixated on Broccoli Guy, sending little waves of chills down his back whenever the Doom Raider met them. "As I've learned that even people like me need it from time to time." He added, finally showing a flinch in his expression. If only a tiny one, in the form of his left eye, twitching, very, very subtly.

Broccoli Guy was a little unsure of what to do next. The only person he would ever allow himself to grovel to, was Golden Queen, not some emo purple dragon. "What happens if I don't want to apologise?" He asked daringly as he crossed his arms over his chest and put on a pouty frown.

Cyrus didn't seem very angered by this, he just stared at Broccoli Guy for a moment, a moment Broccoli Guy spent holding his breath. Then, out of nowhere, Cyrus just held his paw out to Broccoli Guy, as if he were expecting a handshake.

Broccoli Guy was confused about this at first, but as he lifted his gaze form Cyrus's paw to his face, he noticed that the indigo dragon was smiling, a small strange smile.

The Doom Raider didn't really know what this was all about, but the dragon's smile seemed genuine enough. So, in good spirits, Broccoli Guy stretched out his own hand and let Cyrus take a hold of it.

The dragon did not squeeze hard enough for Broccoli Guy to feel pain. It was just a handshake, which made Broccoli Guy sigh with relief.

"Wow," Cyrus began in a calm tone. "I _am_ getting better at it after all." He said simply.

Broccoli Guy didn't really understand what Cyrus meant by that, until he saw the indigo dragon's smile fade and felt his grip tighten considerably. Then, Broccoli Guy looked down at Cyrus' paw and saw that it started glowing a bloody red light. At that, Broccoli Guy felt like Cyrus' hand transformed into a block of arctic ice.

He felt his blood freeze in his veins and his lungs shrink. Broccoli Guy suddenly was having a really hard time breathing and he swore he was getting the cutting, intense pain of frostbite on his hand.

"Now," Cyrus picked up. "About that apology." He said in a cold tone as he tightened his grip on Broccoli Guy's hand.

"Y-You can't… do this!" Broccoli Guy tired saying. "Skylanders are…. s-supposed to b-b-be all… _he-heroic_!" He stammered.

Cyrus just leaned closer to Broccoli Guy, to eye level with him, so he cold stare right at Broccoli Guy with his poisoned gaze. Then, Broccoli guy saw as Cyrus smiled again, a different smile, one Broccoli Guy was sure was genuine. The cruel simplicity was unfakeable.

"Who said I was a Skylander?" Cyrus asked, his smile widening.

Broccoli Guy let out a small, frightened squeal as she shrank in fear. He guessed he could grovel to this guy too.

* * *

Whirlwind was walking through the Academy grounds, back to her new house.

She walked with her head low throughout bridges and little isles with green grass and bushes. She was feeling really tired for some reason, her whole body felt heavy and her spirits were low, partly the reason why she didn't want to just fly over to her home.

All she could think about was what had happened back in the common room. All those things Broccoli Guy had said, they hurt, because Whirlwind always felt, somewhere deep inside that they were true, she just didn't think it would hurt this much to be faced with them.

She didn't blame her companions though, she knew they didn't want to think all those things, even if they did.

Whirlwind then stepped into a large isle with a couple of bushes near its edges. She was getting close to her house, a small relife by itself. So, Whirlwind continued her little walk and made her way to the middle of the island. However, that was as far as she got, for she was faced with a troubling sight.

She saw one of the bushes in front of her come to life. It's green foliage moving unnaturally, as if the plant were standing up. That's when Whirlwind realized, it wasn't a bush at all, it was none other than Broccoli Guy. The cyan dragoness' fell flat on her head and she took a step back as the green Doom Raider began approaching her with an irritated look on his face.

"W-What do you want?" Whirlwind demanded defensively, taking another step back.

Broccoli Guy just stared at her in silence. He looked more and more irritated by the moment and was emitting a low-pitch groan. Then, he closed his eyes as he let out a long, stressed sigh.

"Hello there," Broccoli Guy began, doing a roboting-looking wave. "I would like to apologise for all the mean and stupid things I said." He stated, in a way that made it sound like he was reading the word off a scrip, a script he didn't really like.

"Uhhh, okay?" Whirlwind replied, slightly weirded out, but partly intrigued.

"I want to say," Broccoli Guy picked up, groaning. "That I don't think your horn is stupid, and that it's much better than my lame, eat-your-greens healing powers." He declared, rolling his eyes in annoyment.

At that, Whirlwind let out a little giggle. "Gee, Broccoli Guy, thanks." She sneered.

The small Doom Raider groaned and glared at Whirlwind, but for some reason, he kept himself in place. "And," He continued, speaking from his little script. "To show you that I am truly sorry," He paused, his expression softening from one of irritation into one of embarrassment. "I… I've…" He stammered.

"Yes?" Whirlwind asked wryly, eager to see where this was going.

At that, Broccoli Guy just let out a final defeated sigh and looked up at Whirlwind. "I've prepared an apology dance." He said in a deflated tone as he let his arms slump down.

Then, Whirlwind saw Broccoli Guy raise one of his hands over his head and place the other on his hip. After this, the Doom Raider started humming a little song Whirlwind couldn't recognise as he started swaying his hips from side to side, while he spun slowly in place and waved his hand above his head.

Whirlwind covered her mouth with her paws, in an attempt to muffle the laughter she was unable to hold at the sight of the little green creature's fittingly little dance.

But it wasn't over yet. After a few more moments of spinning and humming, Broccoli Guy stopped turning and after a brief pause, faced Whirlwind, backed up a few feet and then slid forward through the ground, fashing an unenergetic pair of jazz hands as a finale to his little dance.

Whirlwind was bending over laughing, her paws no longer covering the joyous outburst coming from her mouth. Instead, the dragoness clutched her sides, which were starting to ache from laughing so hard. She cold feel tiny tears stream out of her eyes, tears she wiped away as she slowly composed herself and straightened her posture.

Whirlwind let out one last chuckle as she finished rubbing her eyes and catching her breath. She then looked down at Broccoli Guy, who had a huge, humiliated blush on his face.

He looked quite upset, but even now, he did nothing to cause unrest. In fact he spoke some more of his scripted lines. "I hope that my dance was entertaining."

"Oh, it was." Whirlwind declared proudly with a small snicker.

Broccoli Guy laughed mirthlessly at the commentary before resuming. "I also hope you can accept my humble apology," He stated. "And rest assured I won't ever disrespect you again." He promised sound unconvinced at his own words.

"Apology accepted," Whirlwind said with a small joke-bow. "And I'll keep you to that promise." She added.

At that, Broccoli Guy just grunted something that sounded like _"Whatever,"_ And proceeded to float past Whirlwind, his head low, grumbling to himself as he left the isle and the cyan dragoness behind, heading to what Whirlwind guessed was the Academy Infirmary.

Once she saw Broccoli Guy's figure grow smaller and smaller with the growing distance, Whirlwind felt at ease to think for a moment. However, it took Whirlwind a moment to focus, because she realized she was smiling, and that she hadn't stopped smiling since Broccoli Guy put on his peculiar display.

After clearing her head, the dragoness concluded there was no way the Doom Raider had had a change of heart, especially not that fast. She began pondering who could have been the one who set up such a bizarre little show for her, and who was intimidating enough to convincing Broccoli guy into humiliating himself like that.

After she looked at it for a moment, Whirlwind's eyes went round, and her ears shot up. She figured it out, and smiled wryly at the realization. Afterwards, the cyan dragoness endeavored to face the person who had set up this little show.

And so, Whirlwind turned back around and started running, heading toward the main Academy building.

She had quite a bit of ground to cover, since the building was a fair distance away and the many islands in between were split apart by gaps and bridges. Some of the isles were dotted by shadowy trees.

Whirlwind could feel the light of the sun on her back, so she decided to walk toward the Academy down a path with a little more shade. And so, she walked through an isle which had a short row of trees.

The shade the green leaves above her cast down, allowed Whirlwind to let out a relieved sigh and walk a little slower. As she did this, Whirlwind started to take a moment to think what she wanted to say, she hadn't really thought about it.

"Whirlwind?" A voice breathed down her neck.

Whirlwind let out a small frightened yelp and jump, as she turned around to see who had snuck up on her.

When she did this, the cyan dragoness' eyes went round for a moment, for she hadn't expected the person she wanted to find, actually finding _her_.

"Cyrus!" She called the indigo dragon's name as she composed herself. "I uh, didn't see you there," She said. "Or hear you." She added, a little unnerved by how stealthy he could be.

"Yes, I seem to just, _do_ that," He said awkwardly, scratching the side of his chest. "In any case, I'll let you to your business." He stated with a polite nod before he moved to turn around and leave.

"No wait!" Whirlwind exclaimed, making Cyrus freeze in place. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something." She stated as Cyrus turned back to face her.

"What do you want to talk about?" He asked casually.

Whirlwind then smirked wryly, something she noticed made Cyrus get a little nervous, since he started glancing away. "I wanted to thank you," She said, still smirking.

"F-For what?" Cyrus asked a little shakily as he tried keeping his cool.

"For what you made Broccoli Guy do," She answered, making Cyrus' eyes go round. "It was really funny." She said with a small chuckle as she remembered the little Doom Raider wiggling around.

At that, Whirlwind saw Cyrus relax for a moment, let a shadow of a smile grow on his face. However, the indigo dragon soon composed himself and looked away. "How do you know it was me?" He asked. "Anyone could have made him dance like that."

"Well, lets see," Whirlwind began with a joking tone. "Sunburn and Drobot are stuck in the infirmary for now," She began. "Camo and Zap are not really scary enough to make a Doom Raider humiliate himself like that," She added. "And while I did think Spyro, Cynder or Bash could have put something like this together, I'm now sure it was you." She stated, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at Cyrus with an expectant smile and raised brow.

Cyrus was sweating now,only a few drops, but he was. "W-Why is that?" He asked.

"I didn't tell you Broccoli did a dance," She stated, making Cyrus' close his eyes shut tightly and face palmed, as if he realized he made a mistake. "You could only have known that if you told him to do so." She explained, presenting the final piece of evidence.

Cyrus then took his paw of his face and took a deep breath. "Yes, fine, I told Broccoli Guy to apologise to you." He admitted in a defeated, mildly embarrassed tone.

She had already figured it out, but Whirlwind felt good hearing it from him. "Thank you for that," She said in a mellow tone. "No one's ever done something like that for me before." She stated, truthfully.

This was the first time she remembered anyone doing so much just to make her feel better.

Cyrus didn't seem to know how to respond, he just stared at Whirlwind in silence before he spoke in a low voice, averting Whirlwind's eyes. "You're welcome, I just… wanted to…" He paused, thinking about his words. After a small sigh, he spoke. "I noticed you were hurt by what he said," He began. "I… I didn't want it to get to you, that's all." He explained dodgingly.

Hearing that made Whirlwind's smile waver. She saw Cyrus frown with regret, his eyes unfocused. _"Why does he keep doing that?"_ She asked herself, not outloud for Cyrus to hear. She felt strange, unsure of what to think. She looked down at her paws, a sense of unfulfillment, weighing heavily on her.

"W-Well… I should go home," Whirlwind picked up suddenly. "I need to get some sleep." She made up cheaply. After this, Whirlwind began to move to leave the scene. "Goodbye, Cyrus-"

"Wait!" The indigo dragon exclaimed suddenly, taking Whirlwind by surprise.

"Y-Yes?" She asked nervously.

Cyrus pursed his lips and took a moment, scratching his neck as he did. "You are going to your new house here, right?" He asked awkwardly.

"Yes?" Whirlwind replied in a similar tone.

"Well, I could- I would-" Cyrus stammered and corrected himself. "I-I could walk with you until you get there," He suggested. "I-If you'll have me!" He added rapidly, a tiny drop of sweat trailing down his temple.

Whirlwind smiled at the idea. "A-Alright." She agreed, noticing Cyrus relax slightly. "After all, there's no way of telling what Broccoli Guy is going to do now, is there?" She asked with raised eyebrow and a small giggle.

Cyrus let out an amused scoff at her commentary, but stepped to his side and gestured for Whirlwind to head toward the road back to her home. "After you," He said with a little bow. "I don't know where you live." He added with an embarrassed smile.

Whirlwind just smiled as she walked forward, stepping past Cyrus and heading on her way back home. Whirlwind walked with a little concern at first, because at times she felt like Cyrus just vanished. She looked behind her, as if to make sure he was still there, only to make herself feel stupid when she saw him walking calmly behind her, a zen expression on his face that turned into one of mild curiosity whenever he caught Whirlwind glancing back at him.

The indigo dragon was an extremely silent walker, Whirlwind never heard the sound of a step come from his paws through the distance the two covered. However, after a while, Whirlwind began to relax, ease into the fact that, Cyrus had followed her this far, and he would follow her this last stretch of the way.

And so, Whirlwind sighed as she relaxed and kept walking without looking back. She decided to put a little bit of trust on Cyrus, even if she wasn't completely sure on the reason why.

But then, something made Whirlwind let out a quiet gasp and made her ears stand on point. She heard a peculiar sound, not random, but consistent and distinct. She realized it was humming, a calm, serene little melody.

Whirlwind's eyes then went round when she realized who was the one humming. She never took Cyrus to like music, but the quiet, almost polite humming had a noticeable rhythm.

The sound was quiet and soothing, and had the added bonus of confirming that Cyrus was indeed still there, something that put Whirlwind at ease, for the remaining duration of her trip home.

It wasn't long before the two dragons arrived at Whirlwind's new home, both of them standing beneath the looming shadow it cast. The indigo dragon was sitting on his hind legs to Whirlwind's left, looking at her house with careful detail.

"Well," Cyrus began, standing up. "Here we are," He said, gesturing at the large house. "So… I guess this is where I leave you."

"Y-Yeah, this is it." Whirlwind agreed, fidgeting with her paws, looking to her right.

"I… guess I'll leave then," Cyrus stated in a slightly deflated tone. "See you later." He said as he began walking away.

Whirlwind was disheartened by the indigo dragon's dry exit. She hung her head down as her eyes drooped.

"Hey," Cyrus' voice called suddenly.

Whirlwind then lifted her head and looked over to Cyrus with curious eyes. She saw the indigo dragon, a few meters away, looking at her with a thin smile on his face.

"W-What's your favorite color?" He asked simply, keeping his eyes on Whirlwind.

She needed to take a moment to process the question. No one had asked her that before, no one seemed to care, other that the indigo dragon in front of her, patiently waiting for the answer.

Whirlwind then looked up at the sky above her with wide eyes. She felt herself smile and a strange sensation of warmth spread through her body as she remembered the answer, her favorite color.

"White," Whirlwind answered as she looked at the passing clouds above her. "My favorite color is white." She repeated as she lowered her head and smiled at Cyrus.

This in turn, made Cyrus smile wider and nod his head, as if he just learned and understood a whole new subject. "That's good to know." He said warmly.

After this, Cyrus turned around and proceeded to walk away, leaving Whirlwind alone with her thoughts. Speaking of her thoughts, Whirlwind had a huge stream of questions and pieces of thoughts that were trying to piece themselves together. It made her incapable of focusing.

She was only sure of one thing; that, that little experience she had just had with Cyrus, was the first of its kind in her life, it made her opinion of the indigo dragon became hazy. The back of her mind kept reminding her of the things Cyrus had done in the past, of the things he did to her and to the others. But, she also remembered all that had happened recently, and all the things Spyro had said about him, that he never even meant to do all those terrible things.

But, could she be sure? Whirlwind decided that only time was going to be able to tell. In the meantime, Whirlwind had her mind set on a pleasant, head-clearing nap. So, without further delay, Whirlwind began walking toward her house.

However, before Whirlwind could get close, to her door, she heard her name be called by a distant voice. Whirlwind found this voice familiar, she could tell it was the voice of a friend. And when she turned around and saw the outline of a violet dragoness flying down to meet her, Whirlwind knew she had guessed right.

"Cynder!" Whirlwind called as her friend landed a few feet away. "What are you doing here?" She asked in a curious tone when she noticed Cynder was breathing abit hard, as if she was catching her breath.

"Oh, I was just on my way to my house," Cynder began. "I'm supposed to have something delivered there I want to make sure is ready for tomorrow." She explained.

"Really? What are you having delivered?" Whirlwind asked with intrigue.

"Oh just a book for me and some friends to read," Cynder replied. "See, we're part of this Book Club, and every week one of us is supposed to bring a book to read. As it so happens, it's my turn." She stated.

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" Whirlwind said with excitement.

"It is, Hex always brings the best books, but me and Roller Brawl bring in the occasional literary jewel." Cynder joked, getting a little giggle out of Whirlwind. However, Cynder suddenly fixed her eyes on Whirlwind, and fell silent for a moment. "Actually Whirlwind," She picked up, a smile growing on her face. "How would you like joining us tomorrow?" She asked.

Whirlwind's ears then shot upward as her eyes went round when she heard those words. She wasn't really expecting them. "What? You want me to join you?" She asked, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, it'd be nice to have a new girl in the club," Cynder said in a casual tone. "Besides, we're friends already, aren't we?" She asked, nudging Whirlwind gently on the shoulder.

Whirlwind felt a wave of warmth spread through her after this. She had hoped to become friends with Cynder at some point, she had no idea the violet dragoness already considered her as one. "Y-Yeah, of course we're friends." Whirlwind agreed in a shaky voice.

"Great!" Cynder exclaimed in a happy tone. "Then I'll see you tomorrow! The Club gathers at noon in the Academy courtyard," She stated. "Don't miss it!" She said as she began to take flight and head to her home. "Bye, Whirlwind!" She shouted as she flew off.

"Bye Cynder!" Whirlwind shouted as she waved her friend goodbye.

As she saw Cynder's figure shrink, and eventually vanish in the distance, Whirlwind felt joy swell up within her heart because of one, simple, yet worldchanging realization. She had friends, something she had searched for and had yearned to have for the longest time, it made her smile widely and fell a peculiar tightness in her chest.

So, Whirlwind turned around, and opened the door to her home. She was eager to go sleep, not because she was tired, the weight of sorrow had left her entirely.

She wanted to sleep because she was eager for tomorrow.

* * *

Unulus was looking at the ceiling on his cell. The glowing golden sheen that surrounded the entirety of his cell made it difficult for him to sleep. The shimmering of the gilded walls stung his eye whenever he focused too much. So, he let out a groan and closed his eye shut.

But that didn't help either. Despite the fact the prison was on Lights Out and that the criminals on the cells in the same hallway as his were asleep, hence, not making any noise, it only caused Unulus to be left alone with his thoughts, and those weren't exactly pleasant company.

Unulus couldn't stop thinking about what had happened with his brethren. What would their fate be under Muno's lead. He had hoped his companion could lead his people to greatness, or at the very least, to safety.

But perhaps it was meant to be, the undoing of the cyclops forever, they were few of them now, fewer who wanted to work together, fewer still who kept the old ways in high regard. Perhaps it was a losing battle at the end of the day, and the thought did nothing but anger Unulus.

However, Unulus found his anger skyrocket, when out of nowhere, he felt the prick of a needle sting him in the neck, delivering a sharp whisper of pain. The pain was accompanied by a sudden wave of cold that covered every inch of Unulus' body.

Unulus hissed at the pain and placed a hand over the area from where the pain had come from. He was used to cruel cold, but this was diferent and it made him wary. He then got on his feet and scanned his cell for whoever or what ever had pricked him.

But then, when Unulus focused his eye on a small, hunchback creature with a dragon skull for a head, all of Unulus' bravery couldn't stop him from letting out a small yelp.

After quickly composing himself however, Unulus noticed the creature had a needle in one of his hands, a needle that was tinted slightly red. So, putting two and two together, Unulus narrowed his eye and spoke.

"Did you really come all this way to die, hunchback?" Unulus asked dangerously, clenching his sharp gauntlets.

"No," The creature replied in a croaky voice. "I came her to ask for your help." He stated as he took his free hand and drove it into a black pouch he had on his belt.

Unulus then saw the creature pull out a single, fiery red feather from his pouch. Then, the creature took the feather and used it to clean Unulus' blood off the needle. After this, the creature began muttering something that sounded like gibberish. Unulus guessed it was witchcraft of some kind, because as the creature muttered, the feather it was holding, began to glow, like a bright torch.

After this, the creature tossed the feather at the ground before him. Then, the feather began spewing flames and sparks upward, like a bonfire. However, as Unulus watched silently, captivated by the display, he started noticing a few strange things.

Firstly, he noticed the flames were taking from, creating an outline of a shape. The fire created a faint sensation of heat in Unulus' body, stopping some of the cold that had crept into the air around him. Then, Unulus noticed the flames began to dull down, and create shadows, diferent colors and far more defined shapes.

And then, when the creature's work had finally taken shape, Unulus shuddered and took a step back. He was looking at himself, a mirror image, except for the fact, there was no mirror.

"What sorcery is this?" Unulus demanded as he tore his gaze from his brand new doppleganger to the creature that created it.

"Ahhh, phoenix feathers are so useful," The creature sighed as he looked from Unulus' doppleganger to the real deal. "This little fella will keep up the ilusion you're still trapped here. It'll buy us a whole lot of time." He stated.

The doppelganger then moved, in a natural, convincing manner and proceeded to lay down on the bed Unulus himself had just gotten up from. All of this made Unulus feel like the doppelganger was indeed quite the convincing facade, he just wondered why it was needed.

"Time for what?" Unulus demanded, confused by the situation.

At that, Unulus saw the maroon creature look up at him, fixating it's single yellow eye on him. Then, the creature just extended his hand out to Unulus, as if he wanted him to take it.

"For people to remember." The creature said simply, holding his hand out insistently.

Unulus narrowed his eye. "Remember what?" he asked skeptically.

"The truth," The creature answered. "The truth about dragons." He added with a bitter tone.

At that, Unulus' eye went round. He had no idea what this creature intended, for he had just met them. But, there was a part of him, that was starting to be drawn to this creature, almost as if there was a voice in his head telling him there was something about this creature, something that meant it understood, just as well as him, what dragonfire is really all about.

In any case, this creature had snuck into this supposedly high security prison completely unnoticed, so Unulus concluded it could also get him out.

And so, taking a deep breath, and clearing his mind of doubts for the time being, Unulus stretched his arm down and grasped the creature's hand. It was cold as death, and Unulus could feel it through his gauntlet.

After this, the creature's glowing eye curved upwards, making Unulus feel like it was smiling under it's grimm mask. And then, Unulus felt gravity lose it's pull on his body. He felt his flesh turn to smoke and his consciousness be whisked away, to a completely diferent place.

* * *

 _Author's notes_

 _Heya guys. I am so sorry this took so long, I just had way too much stuff on my plate. I tryed getinf time on my scheduel but it didn't really work out. However, the chapter is here, as promised, and there are Definitely more coming!_

 _Speaking of this chapter, I know the new "guest" might seem a bit conveniently placed, seeing as a lot of you guys wanted him to show up, however, I had plans to add Dark Spyro a long time ago. I liked him quite a bit in the show and since we didn't really get to see what actually happened to him, I thought I could put him here. I hope you guys like how he turns out :)_

\- I still don't own Sklanders Academy

\- And then there were three... what will the newly reunited dragon slayers do next?


	11. Chapter 11

**Skylanders Academy: Song of the Hunt**

by andresponceb2002

 **Chapter 11) Open Season. Pt 1**

Everything was dark, and Drobot was feeling drowsy. The dragon's eyelids were heavy and there was a faint, ringing in his ears. Drobot groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, blinking sluggishly as he adjusted to the lighting of the room he was in.

It was a long, hallway-like room. It was lined with white beds and a couple of windows and a blue door at the end of the hall to his left. It gave Drobot the impression of being in a hospital of some kind. However, Drobot had little time to dwell on it, because a peculiar sensation began tugging at his conscience.

Drobot felt strange, numbed out. He felt like something was missing, something important, but, despite how important this mysterious thing seemed to be, Drobot was incapable of figuring out what it was. That's when Drobot's heartbeat started rising, his breath becoming altered. He was panicking.

"No, no, no, don't tell me-" His voice trailed off, dreading to even consider the possibility. His memories refusing to kick in, refusing to tell him what was so wrong.

Drobot felt his throat tighten and his breathing became labored, as he realized his fears might just be a reality, that everything he once was was gone.

But then, something happened that made Drobot freeze, to hold his breath for a moment, and then another as he understood what had happened. And so, Drobot looked to the corner of his field of vision, and he saw a small tab of transparent blue light. The little tab had a small message written in white letters, which read out: _"System Rebooted. Commencing data retrieval"_

And at that, the world in front of Drobot began to light up, like a computer screen turning on as a display of other small tabs, each one containing bits of information began appearing in the corners of his vision. It was like having a digital interface right in front of his eyes, like he was looking at a bizarre virtual reality game, happening at real time.

Drobot began to look over the little tabs in the corners of his vision. He noticed the first tab he had seen was now gone, as if it had served its purpose. So, his attention shifted toward another tab, one on the lower right corner of his vision. This tab was transparent blue, just like the first one, only larger, containing what Drobot assumed to be the time and date.

"Huh… nine o'clock, thursday, August fifteen." Drobot read the data out loud and nodded, taking note of the information before he shifted his attention to another tab.

This one however, Drobot noticed was a transparent red color, as opposed the the blue of the previous two tabs. And to his discomfort, this tab read out: _"Damage Report"_ , a rather concerning label.

And then, as if staying focused on the tab was a signal for activation, the small red tab expanded and centered itself before Drobot's eyes, taking up most of his field of vision. There was a brief pause, where the red tab presented a loading icon before it showed Drobot a complicated interface.

Drobot saw what appeared to be a digital image of himself, scaled down to fit the screen in front of his eyes. He saw that there was some text near the image's head, which read out: _"Severe Impact: Possible damage to multiple databanks."_

That alone was enough for Drobot's stomach to drop. He gripped his head, dread rooting itself in his heart. So, Drobot began trying to confirm the range of this possible damage. So, firstly he tired recalling the most important things first.

"My friends," He said in a pleading voice. "Please, tell me…" He pause as eh closed his eyes shut and focused.

It took a moment, a moment stretched out into what felt like minutes by silence and tension. But then, slowly, Drobot began piecing together names. "Spyro," He whispered. "Camo, Cynder, Whirlwind, Sunburn…" He pronounced in a slowly brightening voice.

He then started pulling together little pieces of images, as if his mind was working on a jigsaw puzzle. He began recalling images of a large, brown dragon. He had horns like metallic ores, and a rough, earth-like texture to him, a bit of a cold shoulder. He also remembered a blue dragon, who's aquatic features reminded Drobot of a large shark.

In this little trip through memory lane, Drobot also began remembering someone else, another dragon, one with dark purple scales, a tired posture and a strangely familiar feel. He could have sworn it was just another recollection of Spyro, until Drobot remembered something else.

Green. Two orbs of poisonous green, filled with pain and sorrow. The eyes of Cyrus, the indigo dragon, someone, Drobot did not remember too fondly. However, something in the back of his head, reminded Drobot that there was something about this dragon, something that made Drobot slowly start to reconsider his opinion of this indigo dragon.

As Drobot began remembering all these little details, he began putting everything back where it was supposed to be, he began to remember his dear new friends, something that made him incapable of holding back a warm smile as he placed a paw over his chest, closed his eyes for a moment, out a long, pleased sigh.

But then, something happened, a diferent memory began rising from Drobot's still murky mind. A pale shadow, cold and cruel, began searing itself back into Drobot's mind.

He started shaking as he remembered her grim, fanged smile, her dead, corpse-like eyes and the flayed skin of a purple dragon hanging from her shoulder. His mind wasn't the only thing lit up with remembrance. His skin tingled with chills, a phantom of the dragon slayer's awful presence. Drobot let out a low whimper as he remembered her name, Vixen, the Eye Gouger.

And with the memory of this twisted foe, came the image of two more unpleasant characters. The imp, Krall, the one with the skull for a hat. No. The one with a _dragon_ skull for a hat, that detail was particularly gut-wrenching for Drobot.

Drobot also remembered the elf, Tarrare, the one with the mask, that had knocked him out. Just the thought of the lumbering creature's chain and winch was enough from Drobot to shiver, and grip the side of his head, where a small throbbing pain pulsated, reminding him of how dangerous these things, these dragon slayers really were.

Drobot felt sick. His head was splitting under the sudden wave of remembrance, he tried holding his head up as he shut his eyes from the strain.

"Drobot?" A familiar voice called from a distance, making Drobot turn his head suddenly.

Standing to Drobot's left, in the middle of the hallway, was a woman, who was wearing a mechanic outfit, big green goggles and all. She had metallic gold skin and short red hair. Drobot also noticed she had a huge wrench strapped on her back, an odd and slightly intriguing detail.

"Are you alright?" The woman asked in a kind tone. "You look uneasy." She added as she took a slow step closer.

Drobot swallowed hard. A tiny drop of sweat traveled down his temple as he came to an concerning realization. _"I don't remember her name."_ He admitted to himself, feeling guilty about how familiar this person felt and yet, still being unable to remember her name.

However, Drobot noticed that, almost as if it reacted to his lack of knowledge, the interface in front of his eyes started doing something strange. Strands and dots of white light started placing themselves over the woman's face, where after waiting for a couple of seconds blinked in and out of vision before a small white tab appeared over the woman's head, covered in a few useful bits of information.

"Sprocket." Drobot slowly pronounced the woman's name.

The white tab over Sprocket's head vanished after a few seconds, just enough time for Drobot to read a few more details about her. She was a Skylander, assigned to the Tech element, just like him. The more he started thinking about it, the more things about her he remembered until he recollected a very complete picture.

"Hey," Sprocket called. "How do you feel? Is everything alright?" She asked, stepping closer,her movements more relaxed.

"I just woke up," Drobot stated, gripping his head again, still a little dizzy. "What happened?" He asked.

"Well, you… you got attacked," Sprocket started. "You got in a fight with these dragon slayers and most of you got knocked out and hurt." She explained. "But, don't worry!" She added quickly, trying not to scare Drobot with the news. "Everyone made it back, in fact most of them are already up, it's just you two left." She finished.

But, something Sprocket said made Drobot flinch. "Us two?" He repeated, wondering who else had remained in a condition like his. As Drobot panned his head through the room, paying more attention to his surroundings, the coppery dragon found his answer.

Laying in a white bed, much like the one Drobot himself was on, was the very still figure of a red, feathery dragon. Drobot recognized him as Sunburn and after looking closer, he noticed that there were white bandages, lined with flickering green inscriptions wrapped around the red dragon's chest, indicating a dangerous wound.

"How is he?" Drobot asked, keeping his eyes on his fallen friend.

"From what I heard," Sprocket began. "He came in with like, three broken ribs and bruising in the throat." She explained. "He was pretty bad, but, we had really good healers to help him." She added with a brighter tone.

"Did you heal him?" Drobot asked, looking over to Sprocket.

"Oh no, I'm no healer," She responded with a handwave. "I'm a mechanic! If anything I helped fix _you_ up." She stated, lightly tapping her knuckles on Drobot's forehead, creating an odd, metallic click.

Drobot then took one of his paws up to his forehead, slightly confused by what Sprocket meant. When he did this, Drobot felt his fingers press against a cold, smooth surface, very unlike skin. That's when Drobot's eyes went round for a split moment as he realized the painfully obvious detail Sprocket was talking about.

His glaring, blue, mechanised appendages. Drobot had grown so attached to them, he barely even noticed them at all anymore, but he guessed they made tending to his injuries a bit more difficult for just a regular healer.

"Your tech is really advanced," Sprocket said with intrigue. "I had a really hard time working around it, especially since I was unable to even _remove_ most of it." She stated.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Drobot apologized for the inconvenience. "It's a personal matter, a bit difficult to explain." He said dodgingly, not very eager to enter that conversation.

"I understand," Sprocket said calmly. "I was just blown away by the machinery." She explained.

"You must be very familiar with Arkeyan technology if you managed to fix me up so well," Drobot noted. "A lot of the pieces I used to build this suit came from scraped Arkeyan soldiers." He stated.

"You don't say," Sprocket said in a clearly curious tone. "Where did you even find Arkeyan soldiers? Aren't they supposed to be really rare?"

Drobot was about to answer, but just as he drew breath to answer Sprocket's question a loud sound reached his ears and distracted him. It was the sound of an almost angry sounding scream, and it made Drobot shift his focus to its source, Sunburn.

The red dragon was up and in a tense, wide eyed position, breathing hard and looking down.

"Sunburn?" Sprocket asked in a worried tone, raising her hands at the dragon. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"Where am I?" Sunburn asked suddenly. "Where are the others?" He added in between labored breaths.

"You and your friends are all safe and sound in Skylander Academy," Sprocket answered. "Here with me is Drobot actually," She said, gesturing at Drobot, despite Sunburn not having raised his head yet.

"We… were fighting," Sunburn muttered as he began shifting in his bed, moving sluggishly. "The dragon slayers… they almost-" Sunburn's voice trailed off as he stepped heavily off his bed.

The red dragon almost fell to the ground, which caused Drobot and Sprocket to exclaim his name and rush over to help. However, Sunburn held himself up, and after a few shaky seconds, he stood upright.

"Sunburn," Drobot called, stepping closer to his friend. "You are wounded, you need to rest." He recommended, after getting a better look at the white and green bandages around his friend's chest.

"No," Sunburn snapped. "I… I need to speak with Spyro," He stated, taking a step forward.

"Whatever you two need to talk about can wait until you've healed," Sprocket interjected. "I may not know much about medicine, but I can tell you are in rough shape." She said in an obvious tone as she ran her eyes over Sunburn.

"It's important." Sunburn growled, a little threateningly and looked up at Sprocket with a stern glare.

Drobot could feel the temperature around Sunburn increase, little by little, as if it was mirroring the red dragon's temper, giving him a bad feeling and a tangible sensation of tension.

However, before the situation could escalate further, a sonorous interruption, in the form of a door being slammed open, quickly pulled the attention of Drobot and his two companions. The group looked to the left, to where the door to the infirmary had been opened and had allowed access to a new person to enter the room.

"Alright little dragons!" A squeaky nasal voice, the meres sound of which annoyed Drobot deeply echoed slightly through the hallway-like room. "Who's ready to eat their greeeens?"

When Drobot looked over, he felt he almost jumped out of his skin. He couldn't really remember why, but the small green creature heading towards him gave him a really bad feeling. Thankfully, the screen before his eyes started feeding him information, similarly to it had done with Sprocket.

The now familiar white dots and lines started appearing over the green dratures face and shortly after, Drobot was treated to a small tab, filled with information. It read out: _"Broccoli Guy, Doom Raider Status: Threat."_

The little green Doom Raider was holding out two wooden bowls of what looked to be hot vegetable soup, which were giving of a faint green glow, indicating some magic had been infused into them, he looked quite smug about it.

"What is he doing here!?" Drobot asked as he took a defensive stance, ready for anything the Doom Raider would throw at him.

"Calm down, he's here to help!" Sprocket shouted, getting in between Drobot and Broccoli Guy.

"Yeah, I'm your doctor!" Broccoli Guy announced proudly. "You boys need some of my healing soup! I made it extra tasty since you guys don't like me!" He said with an obnoxious giggle as he began floating over.

Drobot looked over to Sprocket. He was very uneasy with the situation, but Sprocket gave him a soft look and a small nod, almost as if she was silently asking him to trust her. Drobot was hesitant, but, he let out a small sigh and decided to relax, after all, how much harm could a creature the size of Broccoli Guy really cause.

After this, Drobot turned his head over to Broccoli Guy. He raised his eyebrow at the little detail that, the tab of digital light on Broccoli Guy, now registered his status as _"Neutral"_ rather than _"Threat"_ as the small criminal approached him with a non-threatening smile.

However, Drobot noticed that Broccoli Guy's eyes wandered to something behind the dragon. At this, the Doom Raider froze up and his smile vanished, replaced by a wide-eyed, worried expression.

Drobot was initially confused by this, but a sudden change in the air, that made him start feeling tiny drops of sweat accumulate in his neck. The coppery dragon felt the temperature around him increase, gradually, the abrasive sensation emanating in waves behind him, giving him a reflex to turn around and lay eyes on it's source.

It was Sunburn, unmistakably. He could feel the heat come from his friend's feathers, a few of which smoldered faintly like coals. The red, feathery dragon was glaring intently at Broccoli Guy, breathing slowly and in a way that caused small puffs of white vapor to come out of his nostrils.

"Sunburn," Drobot called his friend's name in a worried tone. "Let's not do anything brash now." He suggested, trying to make his synthesised voice sound steady as he raised his paws to calm his friend.

But it was no use, Sunburn moved so suddenly, Drobot didn't even have a chance to react properly. All he managed to see, was the fiery dragon lunge forward, his sharp claws bared, about to pounce on Broccoli Guy.

* * *

Cynder was waiting at the Academy courtyard, sitting on her hind legs and holding a book in her paws.

The book had a blue cover, which had a couple of golden runes on it, coupled by a title; "The Battle of the Storm King". Cynder had read it a long time ago, so the details were rather hazy, but she distinctly remembered enjoying reading it. But, just to make sure, she had glossed over reviews for it and the book seemed to be well received.

She wanted to get it over to her friends, Hex and Roller Brawl, who were actually already waiting for her in the Club's usual meeting spot, however, Cynder was compelled to stay where she was. She was waiting for someone.

" _I hope she comes,"_ Cynder thought to herself, looking up to the cyan sky above her, looking for her new friend, Whirlwind.

As Cynder scanned the sky with a sharp and eager eye, she slowly became more and more disappointed, as she was unable to find any sign that the cyan dragoness was coming. This made Cynder let out a low sigh as her eyes drooped and a small frown curved her lips.

"Maybe, some other time." Cynder said in a down tone as she began to turn around and head over to meet her Undead friends.

However, just as Cynder was about to take the first step to leave, she heard a familiar voice call her name from behind her back. "Cynder!" The voice cried, sounding distant, yet quickly approaching. "Wait!"

After this, Cynder turned back around, her hopes lifted high once again. She couldn't hold back a smile when she looked up once again, this time seeing the figure of her cyan friend flying towards her.

"Whirlwind!" Cynder called, waving one of her paws cheerfully as her friend descended. "You came!" She added as the other dragoness landed nearby.

"Of course I came!" Whirlwind said merrily. "I wouldn't miss it." She stated with a smile, her long, expressive ears in a very calm position. "So, what are we reading?" She asked inquisitively.

"Well," Cynder began. "I picked out this book-" She said, holding it out to Whirlwind for her to read the title on the cover. "-I thought it would be a good read, a cool adventure story with lots of action!"

"Sounds fun," Whirlwind replied. "When do we start?" She asked excitedly.

"Well first we have to gather up with the other girls," Cynder explained. "They are probably waiting for us already." She added, gesturing for Whirlwind to follow her as she started to head on her way to their place of meeting.

Cynder saw Whirlwind hurriedly catch up to her, leaving both of them walking side by side. "So uhh," Whirlwind began, in a shaky voice, Cynder noticed her ears lowered slightly. "Who else will be joining us?" She asked.

"Just Hex and Roller Brawl," Cynder stated. "Don't worry, they are really nice, Hex especially is really enthusiastic about making new friends." She said with a wide smile, in an attempt to help Whirlwind relax.

To Cynder's delight, her efforts seemed to be effective, since Whirlwind's ears rose again and the cyan dragoness creaked a thin smile. This in turn made Cynder keep her smile on, as well as silently decide to keep the fact that what she had meant about Hex _"making"_ friends, was probably not what she had made Whirlwind think it was.

After a few more moments of walking, the two friends made their way to a medium-sized isle where, beneath the cool shadow of a large tree, Cynder saw two familiar figures.

Dressed in their usual black gothic attire, Hex and Roller Brawl were sitting and talking pleasantly, not yet aware of Cynder or Whirlwind's arrival. Cynder always noticed that the duo was particularly happy when put together, she found it cute.

However, Cynder had to remind her friends, they had a meeting today. "Hey girls," Cynder called, drawing Hex and Roller Brawl's attention. "We're here." She added as she walked over.

"Oh, hey Cynder!" Hex called as she got up and walked over to her friend, followed shortly by Roller Brawl. "Did you bring today's book?" She asked in a pleasant tone.

"I sure did," Cynder stated, holding up her book proudly. "Annnnd-" She paused as she reached behind her and slowly encouraged her companion to come forward. "I brought that new member I told you guys about." She announced.

"Girls, this is Whirlwind," Cynder introduced her friend.

"H-Hello," Whirlwind began shakily, not looking directly at the Club members. "Nice to meet you." She said shyly.

"Same!" Roller Brawl said, suddenly sliding in front of Whirlwind, making her jump back a bit. "I'm Roller Brawl, and that's Hex." She introduced, pointing at herself and her friend respectively.

"We're very excited to have you, Whirlwind," Hex said, putting her hands together and giving the cyan dragoness a warm smile. "And we're very glad you're joining the Undead Book Club."

"Hold on a minute!" A new voice shouted suddenly, seemingly materializing out of nowhere.

Cynder was momentarily distressed and started panning her head around quickly, looking for the source of the voice. However, as her eyes darted through the screen, they eventually landed on Hex, who became a focus for Cynder.

The necromancer was pinching the bridge of her nose and had her eyes squinted shut. "What is it Skull?" She asked in an impatient tone.

As if on cue, a small skull, surrounded by a crystalline blue bubble emerged from behind Hex. "Nobody told me we were getting a new member." He stated, sounding mildly offended.

"It was Cynder's idea, Roller Brawl and I approve, so we let her join," Hex explained in a more patient tone, her hands now at her sides. "Besides, it would be a good idea to have a new face around." She added.

"But she's not even an undead!" Skull argued, fixing his empty eye sockets on Whirlwind, somehow expressing accusation. "I thought this was _Undead_ Book club."

"Well it's just Book Club now," Hex snapped. _"We'll have to find a better name later,"_ She added under her breath. "But for now, Whirlwind is joining, so make your peace with it." She commanded with finality.

At this Skull paused for a moment. "Fine," He said, sounding defeated. "As long as she can read." He grumbled.

At that comment, Hex snapped her fingers and just like that, Skull turned into a cloud of pink smoke, disappearing quietly.

"You have no idea how easy things are now that I can do that," Hex said with a mischievous grin. "Makes me wonder why I never learned how to reverse-summon familiars earlier." Hex let out a small chuckle, which spread over to Roller Brawl and Cynder. "Well, now that that's out of the way," Hex picked up. "Should we get started?" She suggested.

Eyes fell on Whirlwind, who shrunk slightly. Cynder noticed this, and gave her friend an encouraging smile. This seemed to help, as Whirlwind composed herself a bit. "Y-Yeah, let's do it."

Cynder felt a tender warmth spread through her. She was overjoyed she could play a part in making Whirlwind feeling more welcome around others and smiled at the thought.

But, something cut Cynder's moment of joy a bit short, a sonorous voice that filled the air. "Cynder!" The voice called, making her and her friends jump up.

After a moment, Cynder composed herself and looked up. There, she saw a large, glowing head, looking down at her. "Hello, Master Eon," She greeted, the initial scare passing. "What's up?"

"I have some great news!" Master Eon declared merrily. "Meet me in the Academy common room, I believe you will be very excited!" He stated with a wide smile before his image disappeared suddenly with a short pop.

Cynder blinked and shook her head slightly. She was a little taken back by the sudden news. She turned her head back to look at her friends, they were all looking at her, almost expectantly.

"Well?" Hex began. "You should go, Master Eon called." She stated.

"But, what about Book Club?" Cynder asked, giving Whirlwind a side glance, guilt pilling up on her back.

"Don't worry," Roller Brawl interjected. "We'll take care of her." She stated, apparently noticing Cynder's concern for Whirlwind. "If you want, we can wait for you before we start reading. No pressure." She added with a casual shrug.

Cynder pursed her lips for a moment. She really enjoyed Book Club with her friends, and she had picked this session's book herself. But, she remembered she had brought someone along this time, someone who might need this a bit more than her.

And so, with a short sigh, Cynder spoke. "You can start without me," She said looking over to Whirlwind. "Just have fun." She said with a smile as she handed her book to her friend.

Whirlwind looked down at the blue book in Cynder's paws. She then looked up at Cynder, her eyes wide as she slowly grabbed the book and held it tightly, her ears low against her head.

"Well, I guess I have to go," Cynder said looking behind her and turning to leave. "I'll see you guys in a minute." She said, giving her friends one last glance before she stretched her wings out a took off.

As Cynder lifted herself off the ground, she heard her friends say goodbye from below. She turned her head back and saw them waving a gesture she returned before leaving for the Academy.

The trip was short since she was airborne and Cynder found herself landing in the Academy courtyard in just a few minutes. She was about to head toward the blue doors that lead to the common room, but she stopped in her tracks when a familiar voice called her name.

"Hey Cynder!" The voice called in a merry tone. The violet dragoness turned around and looked up at the source of the voice. She cracked a smile as she saw Spyro, descending from the air and landing beside her. "What's up?" He asked with a smile. "I thought you had an Undead Book Club session today?" He inquired, tilting his head.

"It's just Book Club now," Cynder corrected politely. "We got a new member!" She announced with a smile which made Spyro nod slowly.

"But anyway, I got called here by Master Eon, he said he had big news." She explained. "But what about you?" She picked up. "I thought you were training with Cyrus and the others?" She retorted.

"I got called too," Spyro explained, sounding honest. "What news do you think Eon and Kaossandra have?" He asked.

Cynder didn't really have an answer, but, as her gaze wandered to her right and focused on the blue doors just a few feet away, she realized the answer was very closeby.

"Let's find out." Cynder suggested simply as she walked over to the blue gates and pushed them open, allowing her and Spyro to enter the common room. As both dragons entered the vast room, Cynder began paninge her head, in search of Master Eon's ethereal figure. "Master Eon?" She called as she scanned the room.

"He'll be here shortly." A new voice filled the room.

Cynder quickly turned her head to see Kaossandra, in her now usual position; sitting behind her desk handling Academy business by the looks of it. There were several files of paperwork, writing utensils and a readily available phone all loosely organized over the desk, indicating the sorceress had been having quite a lot to work on recently.

However, once Cynder focused a bit more, she noticed that Kaossandra's expression was relaxed, happy even, a very rare change from the sorceress' usual, disappointed frown.

Cynder then heard another voice reach her ears. "Ah, Cynder, Spyro! Perfect!"

The violet dragoness turned her head to the source of what sounded like Master Eon's voice. However, when she did and laid eyes on the portal master's figure, she let out a small gasp. She was expecting to see the transparent, glowing ghost of the old headmaster, so her surprise was justified when she was faced with a seemingly solid image, smiling at her, only a few feet away.

"Master Eon?" Spyro called with a low voice. "You're back!" He exclaimed as he quickly flew over to the portal master, a smile on his face and with his arms wide open, aiming to catch him in a hug.

But then, just as Spyro was about to hug Master Eon, the purple dragon flew straight through his teacher, who let out a surprised grunt as his body, returned to a much more ghostly and translucent appearance in the area Spyro had gone through.

Spyro on the other hand was on the floor, groaning as he slowly got up and held his head. "So… not back yet, huh?" Spyro asked as he rubbed the side of his head and looked back at Master Eon.

"Not quite," Eon replied, the transparent gap in his chest, slowly being filled by a bright blue light, which after dimming down, left behind the image of the portal master's robe. "But, I'm definitely making progress. I estimate that with some good meditation and perhaps a bit of aid from a spiritual guide of sorts, I could have my body back in a couple of weeks!" He said, raising an arm and smiling broadly.

"That's great!" Spyro exclaimed. "Is that the news you wanted to give us?" He asked.

"Of course not," Kaossandra stepped in, drawing everyone's attention to her. "We have something much more worthwhile to tell you." She stated as she moved to take something out of her pockets.

Cynder walked closer to Kaossandra, followed by Spyro and Master Eon, when she noticed the sorceress had pulled out her phone and was holding it out, as if it were in speaker mode.

Once Cynder and Spyro were sitting side by side before Kaossandra's desk, the sorceress took it as a cue to speak. "Well, they're here," She said out loud, to the phone.

"Cynder, Spyro!" A slew of voices shouted in sudden unison, making Cynder and Spyro jump back, completely startled. But then, as Cynder's head began to process the sounds she had just heard, her eyes went round and her heart skipped a beat.

"Guys! Stealth Elf, Eruptor, Pop Fizz, Jet-Vac!" She called her friends' names joy washing over her.

"Oh man! We missed you!" Spyro interjected, getting closer to the phone. "How have you been?" He asked.

"Oh you know," What sounded like Stealth Elf's voice began. "It's a bit cold, a few too many cyclops here and there but it's been alright."

"How have you all been doing over at the Academy?" Jet-Vac's voice asked. "Keeping the Skylands safe I hope?"

"You could say that," Cynder replied in a slightly down tone, the shadow of the dragon slayers suddenly cast over her mind.

"But, I take it this means you guys found a way back to the Academy?" Spyro asked quickly, as if to change topics, something Cynder appreciated. "Did Flynn come pick you up or something?"

"You betcha Spy-Guy!" A loud, merry voice rung through the phone.

Cynder immediately recognized the voice as Flynn's and chuckled at his antics.

"I just so happened to be going back to Winter Keep and found your friends sitting around," Flynn began explaining in a causal tone. "So, I generously proposed to give them a trip back, free of charge." He added.

"Yeah, yeah, you're _reaaal_ altruistic Flynn." Eruptor grumbled in the background.

"But, why were you back at Winter Keep?" Cynder asked, curious about the convenience of the circumstances.

"I forgot one of my jackets back there!" Flynn stated. "Can you believe it? Me losing one of my precious jackets! They are vintage, ya know, all of them!" He exclaimed, starting of to a full ramble. "But, anyways, I come back find the gang and find none other that Pop Fizz, keeping it warm for me! What a coincidence right?" He asked with a chuckle.

"That's great Flynn," Spyro interjected. "But do you have a timetable for when you're coming back here?" He asked, cutting to the chase.

At that, Flynn hummed to himself for a moment. "I don't know exactly," He admitted. "I mean, I'd have to refuel the Dread-Yacht, and pack up a few extra supplies before making the trip back." He paused. "Buuut, I think I can your friends back home in about a day… and a half... tops!" He kept adding.

"It's alright Flynn," Cynder sighed. "I'm just happy to hear a few good news." She stated with a thin smile. "We'll be waiting for you guys."

"Well see eachother soon lads," Jet-Vac's voice came through the phone. "Until then, keep safe and work hard."

The senior Skylander's words were followed by a chorus of familiar voices saying their goodbyes, which incited Cynder and Spyro to do the same, before the call ended.

"Thank you for calling us about this," Cynder began, looking up at Kaossandra. "It's a relief knowing they're alright."

"Yes, it is," Kaossandra agreed, her pleasant smile persisting. "And I hate to be the one to cut that happy moment off but…" She paused, her expression hardening. "I'm afraid we have a job for you." She stated.

"A job?" Cynder asked, tilting her head. "What's wrong?"

"We have received a call from an important architect," Master Eon spoke up behind her. "He asked for some Skylanders to serve as security for his current project, and we imagined you could assist in this task." He explained.

"Do we have to?" Spyro asked suddenly. "I have to train my friends, remember?" He reminded the portal masters.

"This can serve as an exercise for them." Eon suggested. "They could use some field work and interaction with the citizens they will be protecting." He argued energetically.

When Cynder looked over to Spyro, she grimaced. The purple dragon looked really uncomfortable, he was looking at his paws, which were clenched tightly. He had shaky frown on his face, as if he were remembering something. Cynder knew exactly what was bothering him. The last time he had taken out his team on a mission, they had met Tarrare and Krall, and she didn't need to delve deeper into the memory than that.

"We haven't received reports of the dragon slayers the past couple of days," Master Eon spoke in a soft tone, as if he too, noticed Spyro's concern. "They have no reason to be there Spyro, you'll be safe, I am sure of it." He said, putting a hand on Spyro's shoulder.

Cynder saw Spyro freeze for a moment, only to let out a low sigh before speaking. "Alright," Spyro began. "I guess we can do this, it's a simple enough mission, right?" He asked, sounding like he was trying to convince himself.

"That's the spirit!" Eon cheered. "You should rally your team and move out as fast as you can, the Skylands need you, young dragon!" He said in his dramatic voice, adding hand gestures for effect, all clearly to cheer Spyro up.

It seemed to work in any case, seeing as Spyro's expression brightened up, something that lifted Cynder's own spirits.

"Well, I suggest you get going," Kaossandra spoke up. "That architect isn't going to-"

Kaossandra's voice was cut off by the loud ringing of the desk phone, the one people used to call for help. Hearing the ringtone immediately put Cynder on edge and made her listen eagerly as Kaossandra swiped up the phone and placed it against her ear.

"You have reached Skylander Academy," Kaossandra began the routine introduction. "What is your emergency?" She asked in a mildly annoyed tone and a matching expression.

However, as the sorceress listened into what the person on the other end of the phos was saying, her expression slowly changed. Her eyes widened and her face grew paler. "Get to safety!" Kaossandra ordered through the phone, making Cynder jump back in surprise. "We'll send help immediately!" She promised.

"What's wrong?" Master Eon asked, concern clear in his voice.

"Eon," Kaossandra began. "One of them is back." She said simply, the meaning behind her words clear; The dragon slayers were moving again.

"We… we have to help!" Spyro declared. "Those people are in danger!"

"No Spyro," Kaossandra declared. "You will go to help the architect as planed and stay as far away from the dragon slayers as you can. We will send another team of Skylanders, one that isn't inherently vulnerable to these fiends." She stated.

Cynder noticed Kaossandra was giving Spyro that semi-evil glare she did whenever she wanted to make it clear that things were not up for debate, which might have explained why the purple dragon was so silent.

"Hex and her team will try to chase off the dragon slayer, while you keep the architect and his project safe." Kaossandra stated with finality.

"Wait," Cynder interjected, noticing something. "Dragon slay _er_? As in singular? Does that mean the other two are somewhere else?" She inquired.

"Maybe," Kaossandra answered. "But there is no time to loose," She added, lifting her head up to Eon. "Call the Skylanders, tell them they have a mission." She ordered, causing Eon to give her a quick nod before closing his eyes and disappearing in a flash of blue light.

"And you two," She picked up, pointing at Cynder and Spyro. Cynder awaited orders and stayed silent, but the sorceress had paused in her speech, her brow furrowed, thinking. "Be ready for anything." She advised.

"Yes ma'am!" Cynder and Spyro replied in unison, making Kaossandra crack a temporary smile.

After this, Kaossandra looked down at the phone, still in her hand. Both she and Cynder realized that they hadn't hung up, and that the person on the other side must have heard at least some of what they had talked about, which made Kaossandra speak up once again.

"Sorry you had to hear that," Kaossandra apologised. "But please remain calm, help is on the way." She promised.

As the sorceress placed down the phone, Cynder managed to hear a few words, faintly come through the phone. To her, they sounded like; "Thank you, thank you…"

* * *

"...Thank you!" Krall repeated one last time in his cheaply effeminate voice into the phone before the call was ended from the other side.

Unulus watched as the small, maroon creature put the phone inside of the black pouch hanging from the side of his waist, only to pull out a diferent device, what Unulus recognised as a portable radio, a walky-talky.

"Man!" Krall exclaimed, now using his regular voice, accent and all. "These magic bricks are really useful! I should start collecting them!" He said, taking a mental note.

Unulus cringed at _magic brick_. "When you told me you had lived the past hundred years in the Outlands," He began. "I thought you were being over-dramatic." He stated.

"Why would I lie about something like that?" Krall asked in an innocent tone, fixating his glowing yellow eye on Unulus, sending a chill down his spine, the cyclop did his best to conceal.

"Where did you even get all of this to begin with?" Unulus tired changing subjects.

"Oh, Tarrare and I found them!" Krall replied. "There was this whole store filled with them," He narrated, letting Unulus infer that he had stolen all of his new toys. "My favorite one is _this_ one-" The creature stated as he dug through his peculiar pouch, using his free hand to quickly pull out what looked like an mp3 player. "-I don't know how, but I'm almost sure that there's this whole band of tiny people inside this brick, which sing and play music whenever I tell them to!" Krall stated, sounding marveled as he looked at the mp3 intently, still holding the walky-talky in his other hand.

"Sure," Unulus said simply, dumbfounded by how truly lost this creature was. "But, we should focus now, you called the Skylanders to us after all," He reminded his new associate. "They don't take long." He added, remembering his past encounters with the heros.

"Oh, _alberne zyklopen,_ " Krall said in his strange language. "Don't you worry about anything. I just need to check on my friends, see that everything is in order and in place." He said simply, as he put his mp3 player back in the pouch and turned on the walky-talky.

Unulus waited as the static of the radio resided and Krall spoke. _"Tarrare mein Freund? Wie geht es dir?"_ He asked in his language, throwing Unulus out of the ensuing conversation. _"Hast du das Zeug?"_ He added.

" _J'ai les choses,"_ The voice of who Unulus assumed was Tarrare, replied, speaking in yet another language he couldn't understand. _"Je suis reviens comme on parle."_

" _Ausgezeichnet!"_ Krall exclaimed before he changed the frequency on the walky-talky. "Vixen darling? Are you in position yet?" He asked his other partner.

"I'm closing in now," A woman's voice came. _"Still need a bit of time, but everything should go as planned."_ She added in an undertone, a mutter. "Do you have our new friend ready?" She asked suddenly, Unulus imagined she was referring to him. "And the Cyclops, are you treating him well?" She added, confusing Unulus.

" _Who's their friend then?"_ He wandered in silence, narrowing his eye at Krall.

" _Ja, ja, ja,"_ Krall responded in a dismissive tone. "Everything is fine, just make sure you get that book!" He stated, pointing at the walky-talky with one of his sharp claws. "We really need that to make this work."

"Of course," Vixen's voice replied. "But enough chit chat everyone, we have work to do." She declared.

"Yes, you're right," Krall agreed. "Catch you later," He added quickly before turning the walky-talky off and putting it in his pouch.

Then immediately after, the maroon imp pulled out a completely diferent item, a glass jar, filled with tiny bones, dark purple goop, feathers and other disgusting items. Krall then used his free hand to pull out something else from his pouch; a fistfull of feathers, strikingly similar to the one that he had used to create a copy of Unulus, back when they first met in Cloudcracker prison.

"Alright, enough," Unulus snapped, drawing Krall's attention. "What is even happening right now? You told me we were going to show the word the truth, yet you continue to keep me in the dark." He argued, clenching his fists. "What are you going to do? What is the plan?" He asked demandingly.

Krall remained silent for a moment, keeping his wretched, glowing eye on Unulus, unblinking. "You have a big part to play," Krall said in a low, yet severe tone. "Trust me, everything will be made clear in time, we just need to make sure everything is in its place before we start." He stated, monotonous and completely unmoving as he kept his glowing, cold dead eye on Unulus.

Unulus was discouraged from speaking further, he could tell there was something wrong and if it had been anyone else, he would have spoke up. But for some reason, his courage failed him when he tried confronting this creature. The feeling made him feel feeble, small.

So, all Unulus was able to muster, was nodding submissively, which seemed to sate Krall. "Alright then," The imp picked up, in a much more relaxed tone. "You weren't wrong to be concerned about the Skylanders getting here, so I'll need to work fast." He stated as he shifted his hunchbacked figure closer to the center of the island.

Krall held the fiery feathers and disgusting jar in each hand, he looked tense, like he was about to do something big. Unulus' suspicions were confirmed when Krall turned around and glanced back at him for a second. "You might want to step back." The imp suggested.

Not stubborn enough to defy the suggestion, Unulus took several slow steps backwards, keeping his eye on Krall. Then, after the imp took an audible breath, the two misshapen lumps of flesh on Krall's back churned and stretched out into two more arms, a sight which made Unulus need to consciously resist an urge to gag.

After this brief pause, Krall threw both the disgusting glass jar and the fistfull of red feathers into the air, and shortly after a flash of fire and darkness washed over the island.

* * *

Cyrus was suffering through a headache. He tired closing his eyes and emptying his mind, but it was little use. Try as he might, Cyrus could not keep the incessant bickering from reaching his ears.

"Come _on_ Bash!" Zap groaned.

"No." Bash replied.

"Please!" Camo pleaded.

"No!" Bash repeated, more sternly "I'm not going to do it."

"Why not?" Zap asked demanding. "It would be totally awesome!"

At this, Cyrus gave up. He opened his eyes, to glare at the three dragons standing a few meters away, near the middle of the Academy's training arena. Zap and Camo were standing side by side in front of Bash, who had his back turned to them. Cyrus frowned, when he accepted looking over his brother's friends for him while he went to talk to master Eon, this wasn't what he had signed up for.

"Yeah!" Camo agreed quickly, backing up his friend's previous statement. "Just imagine how cool our super move would be!" He said, making Cyrus raise an eyebrow, at the words; _super move_.

"I won't do it," Bash stated. "It would make me look ridiculous." He argued.

"Ridiculously _awesome_." Zap corrected, stretching one of his paws out for Camo to hi-five. The sound of the ensuing hi-five only made Bash groan in annoyance.

"What is even going on?" Cyrus grumbled at his companions. He figured if he had to listen in, he might as well know what the topic of discussion was.

"Bash doesn't want to help us with our super move!" Camo said as he pointed accusingly at Bash.

There it was again, that weird mix of words. " _Super move_?" Cyrus repeated, narrowing his eyes and hoping for a decent explanation.

"You know," Zap intervened. "Like in those cool action shows, where the good guys team up and do a cool move that combines their attacks!" He explained. "We thought that if we could patch together a super move, we could beat those creeps next time we see them!" He finished, slamming his fist into his palm.

"I'm not against the idea of a combined attack," Bash interjected, drawing the attention to himself. "I simply don't like this one." He stated.

"But it's the only one we have!" Camo responded. "We even have a name for it!" He added. "Please Bash." He begged, putting his paws together and looking at Bash with big eyes, only for Zap to mimic him in a final attempt to convince their friend.

Cyrus looked over to Bash, who had his brow furrowed and lips pursed tightly. He must have been really thinking it over. However after a few moments, Bash let out a long, angry groan. " _For the love of-_ Fine! I'll do it!" He snapped, giving in.

"Aw yeah!" Zap and Camo cheered in unison. "This is gonna be awesome!" Camo exclaimed, raising his arms above his head, smiling broadly.

Cyrus observed the three dragons silently. Through the past few days, Cyrus had managed to get a little closer with each of them. Nothing astounding, just a couple of kind words, being allowed to join the occasional conversation and a less hostility all around. It felt, good, liberating, and considering his own history with them, it was enough for Cyrus.

"What even is this super move?" Cyrus asked with a hint of genuine curiosity. "And why is Bash so against it?" He added, glancing at the brown dragon.

"Ohhh, you're gonna want to sit down," Camo began enthusiastically, apparently unaware that Cyrus was already sitting down. "Because we're about to blow your mind!" He promised, making Cyrus raise an eyebrow.

However, before Camo could start his description of their big plan, someone called Cyrus by his name. "Cyrus!" The voice sounded familiar, and quite distressed, which caused Cyrus to turn his head quickly, over to the source.

At that, Cyrus saw Spyro, swooping down to where he and the other three dragons were, causing all of them to compose themselves and close in on Spyro. "What is it, Spyro?" Cyrus asked, noticing a stressed expression on his brother's face.

"Guys, we have a mission," Spyro began, looking between the other dragons. "And there's been a sighting, one of the dragon slayers is causing trouble." He stated in a somber tone.

That sent a jolt through Cyrus, and immediately darkened the mood as Camo and Zap shuddered and tensed up and Bash's expresion hardened into a frown.

"D-Do we…" Camo stammered slowly. "Do we have to go fight them?" He asked, his voice brittle, marred with fear as his lower lip trembled slightly.

"No," Spyro replied, looking at Camo reassuringly. "No, another team is going to go deal with them, we have a different mission." He stated, taking a breath before elaborating further. "We have to work security for some bigshot architect somewhere else." He explained.

"Ohhhh, oh boy," Camo exhaled exaggeratedly. "Thank goodness for that."

"Can this _other team_ even handle a dragon slayer?" Bash asked, a rather cutting yet quite fair question.

"I don't know," Spyro replied. "I don't really know what Hex and her team can do, or if they're getting any extra backup, but I think they can handle one of them." He said, before lowering his gaze, speaking with uncertainty. _"At least I hope they can."_

Spyro was definitely riled up about the situation, Cyrus could very clearly see that. It's not like he blamed him, they had all learned the hard way that dragon slayers were no joke. But there was something else, a separate issue, one Cyrus couldn't really put his finger on.

"Anyway," Spyro shook his head and spoke up. "Cynder is going to get Whirlwind, so we should get going, seeing as Sunburn and Drobot aren't up yet." He sighed.

Cyrus was about to agreed with Spyro, however, he was cut off before he could speak, by the sound of a shirll, terrified scream, followed by desperate cries. "Someone help! He's crazy, he willingly wants to eat broccoli!"

The wording, coupled with the annoying sound of the voice allowed Cyrus to immediately identify who the person screaming was, and he let out a long, low sigh, closing his eyes as he spoke his name.

"Broccoli Guy," Cyrus grumbled. "We should see what is going on." He suggested.

"Yeah, you're right," Spyro agreed, stretching his wings, ready to fly and get a hang of what was happening. "Let's go see what this is about." However, before Spyro picked up flight, he turned to Camo, Zap and Bash. "You guys should wait for us on the Portal Gates, we should be back in a second." He said.

"Alright,. Bash agreed simply.

"We'll see you there," Zap said. "Don't take too long with that little freak." He joked.

With that, the trio of dragons began to walk away, heading toward the Portal Gates, leaving Cyrus and Spyro behind. And so, without wasting time the two of them took flight and soared high above the training arena. Cyrus turned his head to where the shrill screams were coming from, down and to his left. He had to squint his eyes and lean his head down to focus. However, once he did, Cyrus' eyes quickly went round, for he was taken back by what he had seen.

Beneath the indigo dragon, Broccoli was desperately fleeing from an enraged Sunburn, who was chasing the little Doom Raider with an almost vengeful fervor.

"Sunburn!" Spyro shouted at the red dragon, causing him to react by looking up.

It didn't take long for Spyro to land down between Sunburn and Broccoli Guy, posing himself defensively. Cyrus descended shortly after, positioning himself to Spyro's right and keeping an eye on Broccoli Guy. He noticed the air was rather warm, warmer than it was back at the arena, and that Broccoli was shaking from fear, keeping his eyes steady on Sunburn.

"Sunburn," Spyro started, making Cyrus focus on him. "Wanna tell me why the first thing you do after you woke up after two days is try attacking Broccoli Guy?" He asked sternly.

Sunburn was breathing slowly, glaring. "He's a villian," He spat. "We're supposed to attack them."

"Not this one," Spyro stated. "He's helping us for a bit, so you need to chill out." Spyro recommended sternly.

Sunburn didn't seem to like that. He exhaled, sending puffs of vapor out of his nostrils all while the air around him started getting even hotter. "You are letting a _villian_ help us?" He hissed. "Are you out of you mind?" He demanded angrily.

"Hey, I'm not happy he has to stay, but we need his healing powers to get you better," Spyro explained. "You are still really abnged up from the fight with Tarrare and Krall." He stated, looking at the slightly charred bandaged around Sunburn's chest.

"I thought you were better than this, Spyro," Sunburn spoke, in a bitter tone. "I thought you were someone I could follow."

"What are you talking about?" Spyro asked, sounding offended. "Better than what!?"

"Better than working with villians!" Sunburn snapped back. "Better than helping people who are everything wrong with the world!" He added, speaking louder and more passionately.

Cyrus started squinting, and took a step back. Sunburn was starting to emmit even greater levels of heat, so much so, that Cyrus was actually starting to feel sweat appear on his forehead.

"Spyro," Sunburn started up again, speaking in a lower tone. "Do you remember I told you I joined the Skylanders because of two reasons?" He asked, keeping his eyes on Spyro, who nodded slowly in confirmation, cueing Sunburn to continue. "The first, was because of _you_. You inspired me that day you tried to save me and Drobot from those cyclops." He admitted, looking down and simmering down slightly, all the while, Spyro stayed speechless.

"But I never told you the second reason," He picked up, lifting his gaze back at Spyro. "I never told my whole story." He said, taking a deep breath. "Long ago, when I was a child I lived with my parents, a dragon, and a phoenix, a pairing of strange beauty," He narrated. "However, they quickly became the target of dark wizards, searching for something, a trophy, satisfaction, treasure… I was too young to understand back then, why anyone would take my parents away." He said in a low tone, almost a whisper.

The words reached Cyrus' ears nonetheless, and they made it clear for him what was going on. Cyrus looked over to Spyro a look of worry in his eyes as he wondered what his brother was getting from this.

Sunburn looked conflicted, his eyes were distant with painful remembrance. "What I did understand though," Sunburn picked up. "Was that I would never forgive those people for doing what they did, and I would make sure to stop people like them from getting away with doing whatever it was they wanted to others," He stated, a flash of heat emanating from his body.

"I…" Spyro began, slowly. "I'm so sorry Sunburn, I had no idea." He admitted.

"I'm not finished Spyro," Sunburn cut him off harshly. "I still have something to say to you." He declared. Sunburn was now glaring at Spyro directly, making it clear to Cyrus that whatever was coming next, was personal. "I've grown to care about my new companions. I've trained beside them and fought beside them, so when you took us on that mission, where we met _them_ ," He entonated, making clear who he was referring to. "We all almost died, I had to fight that day, dreading that all these people I've grown to care for could die… and knowing it had all been _your fault_!" Sunburn snapped, pointing accusingly at Spyro.

Cyrus felt himself clench his fists and tighten his jaw. He felt a fire crack in his chest at that commentary. Perhaps he wasn't fond of the idea of someone treating his brother in this way, but he kept himself in check, this was after all, a personal confrontation.

"W-What!?" Spyro reacted, flinching at Spunburn's accusation. "What do you mean it was my fa-" Spyro's voice trailed off suddenly, making Cyrus glance at his brother. He noticed Spyro's face was glum and frozen mid sentence, like he had come to a realization.

"You took us all there," Sunburn began, keeping his angry gaze on Spyro. "And you were the one who gave us away. If it hadn't been for you, none of that would have happened! No one would have gotten hurt!" He accused. "And now, after all that," Sunburn kept talking. "You bring a villian to the Academy and treat him like some saint!" He shouted.

Cyrus was having more trouble keeping himself in place the more Sunburn spoke. Cyrus might have hurt Sunburn before, and he felt guilty about that, but he was slowly building resolve to hurt him again, simply out of the fact of how the red dragon was making Spyro feel.

"So, if this is the kind of person you are," Sunburn growled. "I have no intent of following you." He hissed at Spyro.

Cyrus blinked at those words. He had to pause a second understand. However, he didn't need to, Spyro already put it into words.

"You… you want to leave the Skylanders." Spyro whispered, taken back completely.

Sunburn paused for a moment. His expression faltered and his gaze softened by a hair, almost as if he was hesitating. But, shortly after this, the red dragon nodded silently.

At that, Spyro looked down for a moment, to let out a low sigh, sad and disappointed. "Sunburn, I… I'm sorry," He said, speaking in a saddened tone. "But, no one here is going to force you to be a Skylander, no one here can. I…" He spoke slowly, almost wounded. "I hope you'll reconsider, I wouldn't want to lose a friend."

Sunburn flinched at Spyro's words. He took a step back and loosened his tense posture, the heat around him dissipated. Sunburn turned his head away from Spyro, only to glance at him for a split second before speaking. "I need to think," He declared simply.

And with that, Sunburn stretched out his wings and took flight, rising high above the scene, disappearing into the clouds, leaving behind a glum, grey scene.

Cyrus looked up at where Sunburn had disappeared. His perception of the red dragon was marred and confused. He was angry at him for hurting Spyro, but deep down, he knew full well what SUnburn had done was something he had no right to scorn.

"Whew, that was close!" A squeaky, sharp voice began, making Cyrus shut his eyes closed out of annoyance. "Thank you guys! If it wasn't for you, I would be veggie soup right about now!" Broccoli Guy said with great appreciation.

"Sure thing," Cyrus hissed. "Now, if you want to avoid becoming veggie soup, I suggest you _leave_." He said, in a way that left it clear to the Doom Raider it was a command, not a suggestion.

Broccoli very wisely nodded and moved to float away, leaving Cyrus and Spyro alone without further trouble.

After seeing Broccoli guy's shape distance itself from him, Cyrus looked over to his brother and called his name "Spyro?" Cyrus began, speaking softly.

"He was right you know," Spyro spoke suddenly, cutting Cyrus off. "It was my fault, everything that happened. I was supposed to become a leader." He murmured. "I made you a promise," He paused, looking over to Cyrus, looking at him with drooped eyes. "I promised you I would keep them safe."

"And you have," Cyrus responded, taking a step towards his brother. "All of them are alive and well," He said. "And Spyro… you are not a bad leader," Cyrus tried. "There was no way for you to know those monsters were going to be there, and whatever accident you caused was just that, an accident." He spoke firmly. "Sunburn was just saying those things because he was hurt," Cyrus said, glancing at the skies. "Trust me, I know how to tell when people act out of pain." He said, in an almost self-loathing tone as he looked down at his paws.

Spyro was quiet for a moment, and then another. The silence stretched for a few seconds before Spyro let out a tired sigh. "Thank you…" Spyro whispered, smiling faintly at his brother.

Spyro didn't say anything else. For a moment it seemed like he wanted to, but he held himself back, perhaps happy with keeping a plesant silence, something Cyrus apreciated, he was after all, out of things to say.

So, not wasting more time, the two brothers took flight, heading to the portal gates together.

* * *

Hex walked over to the portal gates on a brisk pace. She noticed her fellow teammates Roller Brawl and Wind-up walking beside her as the tiro headed to the portal gates.

"Hex, you sure we can handle this?" Wind-up asked nervously. "I mean, from what I've heard, these dragon slayer guys are pretty nasty."

"It doesn't matter how nasty they are," Roller Brawl interjected. "They went after our friends, we have to stop them." She stated. "Besides, they are dragon slayers, and last time I checked, we aren't dragons." She said with a calm shrug.

"That doesn't mean they can't hurt us!" Wind-up responded, the robot's mechanical gears squeaking in a peculiar way.

Hex wasn't interested in bickering. She had seen how Cynder had been acting in recent times, after her fight with those monsters. She was focused on beating the people who hurt her friend. So, when she saw Sprocket tending to the portal gates, Hex wasted no time.

"Sprocket?" Hex called, drawing the coppery Skylander's attention.

Hex noticed Sprocket looked a little distracted, her eyes were unfocused and she absentmindedly scratching her left arm. Upon closer inspection, Hex managed to notice that Sprocket was scratching what looked like a rash, or was it a burn? Whatever it was, it had a sickly reddish tint against Sprocket's shimmering skin.

"Oh, Hex!" Sprocket exclaimed, suddenly composing herself. "You guys ready?" She asked.

"You bet!" Roller Brawl answered energetically.

"Sure?" Wind-up added, sounding uncertain.

"Hold up!" A powerful voice, with a peculiar and thick accent, causing everyone to turn around and see it's source.

"Kaboom?" The four Skylanders exclaimed the muscular, red man's name as he walked up to them. "What are you doing here?" Hex asked, noticing Kaboom had his powerful canon over his shoulder.

"I will assist you in your mission," The red man responded. "I was assigned to help your team by Kaossandra, she said you would need help to handle the dragon slayers." He explained, showing off his weapon and smiling broadly.

"Sound's good, I'm not turning down a helping hand," Hex said with a happy scoff. "But we need to get moving, there could be people in danger," She added in a more urgent tone. "So, Sprocket-" She called as she stepped onto the portal gates platform. "-If you would please."

Everyone then quickly tried to match Hex' hasty pace by walking up to the platform beside her.

"Alright," Sprocket called, as she pulled something from under the monitor in front of her. "You know the drill." She finished as she pulled out four Relay Badges and tossed them to the Skylanders.

"That we do," Hex confirmed as she caught her badge and placed it over her chest, all while her companions did the same.

"Good luck," Sprocket said in a mildly worried tone. "And stay safe." She added, giving her friends a worried glance.

Hex only managed to catch this concerned glance for about a split second, since her whole field of vision was overtaken by pure white light, and her body felt lighter than a feather for a short moment as the portal gates took her through the Skylands.

As Hex felt herself touch down on solid ground once again and her vision cleared, she saw that she and her teammates had arrived at what seemed to be a mabu village.

It was rather generic and mundane. Actually, after walkign a couple of pases and squinting, Hex noticed that some of the houses looked outright identical, right down to the flowers decorating the outside of the structures, white daisies.

"This is a strangely symmetrical town," Kaboom noted as he caught up with Hex, making her realized that all the houses were perfectly aligned with each other.

"And there also seems to be a peculiar absence of mabu," Wind-up added, glancing around worriedly. "This feels a little suspicious." He stated.

Hex was about to agree, noticing all the strange things her friends had pointed out. However, she was cut off when she noticed a mabu running at then, crying out for help with a distressed expression on his face.

"Help, please help!" The mabu cried. "There are villains attacking!" He added.

"Oh, alright then," Roller Brawl began. "I guess there is trouble after all." She said as she headed over to the mabu.

"Sir," Hex called in a firm yet kind tone. "Where are the villains?" She asked, getting ready for a fight at any moment.

"Follow me!" He said, in a strangely monotonous tone as he suddenly turned around and started running right back to where he had come from.

Hex was a bit confused, and the unusual, jerky movements the mabu was making as he moved further away gave her a faint bad feeling. But, despite this, Hex didn't have time to dwell on it, her companions were already moving, chasing after the mabu. Hex followed shortly after.

"Don't worry mister!" Roller Brawl began excitedly. "Just tell us where these creeps are and we'll take care of them in no time!"

* * *

It had been fifteen minutes, easily.

Hex could swear the sun was in a different angle above her and her companions as they followed the mabu in front of them. Hex was exhausted, her breathing was labored, her brow was sweaty and her knees hurt. And by the looks of her friends, they weren't that better off. Roller Brawl's skates seemed to have helped her keep up the pace without tiring as much, however, everyone else was on their last breath.

Well, almost everyone, the mabu in front of them, that only insisted that they followed him whenever asked about any sort of explanation, seemed completely fine. That, coupled with the fact Hex was almost completely sure they had been running in circles around the same couple of houses was enough to end Hex' patience.

"Alright! That's enough!" The necromancer exclaimed as she came to an abrupt stop, causing her friends to do the same, allowing them all to let out breathless gasps as they tried to catch their breath.

As Hex evened out her breath, she lifted her head and looked at the mabu they had been following. He still looked distressed, as distressed as he had been when they arrived, just not any more exhausted.

"Listen pal," Hex picked up, slowly walking over to the mabu. "We're here to help, but we can't do that if there aren't any bad guys around." She explained, trying to keep a calm tone.

"There are villains attacking!" The mabu exclaimed in a frightened tone.

Hex raised an eyebrow. "Yes, alright, but where are they?" She asked.

"Help! Please help!" The mabu exclaimed again, in a fluid manner, as if he found his strange and out of place reply completely normal.

Hex was getting frustrated now. "Look pal," She began. "If this turns out to be just some prak you're pulling-" She said pointing at the mabu. "You're going to be in trouble!" She declared as she sent her finger forward to tap the mabu on the chest and send her message through.

However, when Hex' finger reached the mabu's chest, the necromancer was dreadfully surprised to see her whole finger poke through the mabu's figure, almost as if he was made of paper. The visual was made worse by the small burst of flames that came out of the wound as Hex pulled back her hand.

Hex let out an alarmed shriek, but she composed herself quickly, looking at the staring mabu with wide eyes. She noticed her friends had remained silent for a while now.

"Hex?" Wind-up called. "W-What just happened?" He asked shakily.

Hex noticed the mabu has stayed perfectly still and perfectly silent after she had poked through him. This made her narrow her eyes and slowly reach her hand out, this time up at the mabu's face.

And then, just like the last time, with a miniscule burst of seemingly harmless orange flames, the mabu's features caved in under Hex' hand. The undead skylander felt like she was putting her hand through a sculpture made of lukewarm sand.

As Hex pulled her arm back, she noticed the mabu's face had disappeared, replaced instead by a caved-in hole of orange fire. After a few moments, the mabu's whole body began to dissolve and disperse in silent, heatless flames.

The skylanders remained in complete silence as they saw the mabu's figure dissolve into thin wisps of smoke, that were blown away by the wind.

"Uhhh, what was that?" Roller Brawl asked, gesturing at where the mabu previously stood.

"An illusion." Kaboom's strong voice answered, making Hex shift her attention to him.

Once she did, Hex saw Kaboom walk over to one of the houses nearby and stretch out an arm, as if he wanted to lean against it. However, the moment he rested his hand against the yellowish wall, Kaboom's hand passed right through, and once the red man pulled it back, the wall had a wide gaping hole that just like the mabu, flickered with phantom fire.

"This whole place is a huge illusion," Kaboom stated, as he turned around and panned his head over to the other houses. "A trick, made to distract us." He added with a hint of anger in his voice as he clenched his fists.

"You mean everything in this place is fake?" Wind-up asked from behind Hex.

"Yeah, I would bet everything here is just smoke and mirrors." Kaboom confirmed.

"Even this creepy bird skeleton?" Wind-up asked.

At that, Hex turned around quickly to look at what Wind-up was talking about. She jumped back and let out a small gasp when she saw a slender, bone creature which had the head of a crow, looming over Wind-up.

"Yeah, it even looks fake form here," Kaboom said calmly. "Don't worry about it." He added as he waved dismissively at the creature.

"Woah!" Roller Brawl exclaimed as she zoomed over to the creature. "It looks so cool! All the bones are really detailed," She said as she took a closer look, shortly after this, she stepped back and let out a disgusted grunt. "It even smells like a skeleton!" She added with a chuckle.

Hex was starting to fell a strange cold crawl up her back, and faint voices were whispering in the back of her mind. "Roller Brawl?" She called her friend, drawing her attention form the bone creature. "Didn't Cynder say one of the dragon slayers could summon bone creatures?" She asked, taking an almost instinctive step back from the creature.

Roller Brawl's amused smile slowly began to fade as she began running Hex' words through her memory. But, by the time her eyes went round from realization and she opened her mouth to cry out, it was too late.

In a blindingly swift motion, the bone creature swiped it's claws over Roller Brawl's head, knocking the Skylander to the ground with a sonorous thud.

"Roller Brawl!" Hex cried, mortified at the sight of her fallen friend.

However, her own call was silenced by a sharp, shrill and painful screech that emanated from the bone creature as it opened its sharp beak and bared it's claws at the Skylanders.

"Hex, Wind-up!" Kaboom called as he readied his weapon. "Stay together, this enemy looks frail enough for us to handle." He said proudly as he began aiming his cannon at the creature.

But then, before he could fire, Hex saw a new creature, jump onto Kaboom's back, digging it's claws into his shoulders and pecking him with its sharp beak, which caused the red skylander to let go of his weapon on surprise as he let out a short, yet clearly pained scream. The red man tired to pull the bone creature off by reaching for its arms, but the creature simple pecked the Skylander's hand away as it dug its claws deeper into his flesh.

Hex hadn't even seen the second creature arrive, she was taken completely by surprise. She started breathing hard, panning her head to find Wind-up. She had to resist an urge to scream when she saw her mechanical friend be dragged away, by yet another bone creature. The robotic Skylander screamed as the creature dragged him through the ground and behind a nearby house, hiding him from Hex' vision.

They had been ambushed, drawn deep into a trap. Everything was falling apart. They were letting everyone down.

Hex was panicking too much to even focus her magic. Whenever she tried to clear her mind and focus the sound of Kaboom's pained screams or the image of Roller Brawl unconscious on the ground filled her mind.

And then, just as Hex ralied enough focus to channel her magic, she felt something splash at her back. She felt cold, sharp claws tear her skin and knock her down to the floor, pressing her face against the grass beneath.

Hex's last moments before her vision started to become blurry were of panic. She was pinned, her friends had been attacked and even Kaboom had been overwhelmed.

As darkness started filling Hex' world, she managed to get one last glance of her friends. Roller Brawl and Kaboom, being dragged away by the bone creatures, just like Wind-up had been.

And soon enough, when Hex was blacked out too, she knew she wouldn't take long to join her friends.

* * *

Spyro felt sick to his stomach. He was having trouble keeping his head on straight. And all his friends' voices, bombarding him with one question after the other, were only making things worse.

"What do you mean Sunburn just _left_!?" Zap demanded, clearly shocked.

"Are you sure those other Skylanders can handle a dragon slayer?" Bash questioned, clearly worried.

"What are we going to do now?" Drobot asked, in a feeble tone.

"Guys please slow down," Cynder stepped in, standing between Spyro and the others. "Spyro needs a moment, he just found all of this out himself." She stated.

Spyro smiled up ah Cynder for a second, grateful for her help. But, as he drew breath to explain the situation to his friends, his expression darkened. "Sunburn has decided to leave the Skylanders," He started up with what he felt was the most pressing matter. "He… he had a personal issue and he lashed out pretty hard." Spyro explained, trying to keep the red dragon's privacy in mind, it had been after all, a rather personal exchange.

"Will he be coming back?" Camo asked in a low, hopeful voice.

"I don't know, Camo," Spyro replied. "We can't force Sunburn to become a Skylander, if he wants to come around, he will." He stated, silently hoping for his friend's return.

Camo seemed distressed by the response. The little green dragon hung his head down and his eyes drooped, but he asked nothing else.

"And what about the other team?" Drobot cut in, taking a step closer to Spyro. "Are you certain they can handle a dragon slayer?

Spyro was about to respond to his friend's question, but Cynder beat him to it. "I've fought beside them," She began. "They are strong, I'm sure they will be fine." She said, surprising the others with her confidence in her friends.

"Well," Bash spoke up suddenly. "If you say so, then… I suppose I'll rest easier." He sighed.

"And," Whirlwind's soft voice sounded next. "What about our mission?" She asked.

"We have to look after this architect guy," Spyro started explaining. "He needs extra security around this building he's working on, Kaossandra told me it was far away from any place the dragon slayers had been sighted in." He added, trying to relax his companions.

"Well, that's a relief." Zap said genuinely, putting a paw over his chest.

After this, there was a short silence. Everyone present was taking their time to process all the information they had been given.

However, before long, a new voice sounded. "When are you leaving?" Cyrus questioned. The indigo dragon had remained silent behind Spyro throughout the conversation, and only now spoke up.

Spyro turned around, facing Cyrus. He noticed his brother was looking at the ground, avoiding eye contact as he fidgeted with his paws. Spyro felt the worry literally emanate out from his brother.

At this, Spyro started thinking for a moment. An idea slowly started to come together in his mind. That's when Spyro cracked a thin smile as he spoke. "Well, we are one man short," He began. "How about you come with us this time?" He suggested in a mellow tone.

Cyrus reacted almost immediately, raising his head at Spyro and giving him a wide eyes look. The indigo dragon opened his mouth, as if to say something, but his voice didn't come out, causing him to close his mouth and take a paw to his neck, scratching it.

"You wanna take him with us?" Zap asked, sounding surprised. "Are you sure that's a good idea? As in he's not gonna fall asleep mid-mission?" He added, clearly as a joke.

"I don't know," Spyro replied, turning back and smiling at his brother. "What do you think, Cyrus?"

The indigo dragon was taken back momentarily. His eyes darted between the many dragons in front of him as he tried figuring out what to say.

"W-We'd be happy for you to come," Whirlwind said encouragingly, giving Cyrus a shy smile, her ears low against her head.

"Yeah, it'd be cool!" Camo agreed energetically, his bushy tail wagging. "We've never been on a mission together before, right?" He recalled.

"It would be an interesting thing to see." Bash stated plainly.

Cyrus took one final moment to speak, but Spyro noticed his expression had softened and a small smile was tugging at his lips. "Well, I guess I have nothing better to do." He shrugged.

"You're darn right you have nothing better to do," Zap agreed with a chuckle.

"Well, in that case," Cynder spoke up. "If everyone is ready to go, we should get moving." She suggested as she started making her way to the portal gates.

"Alright!" Zap began energetically. "Let's go do this thing newbie!" He said as he walked over to Cyrus, followed closely by Bash and Camo, who dragged Cyrus along with them.

"Yeah! This is gonna be fun!" Camo cheered.

"Don't do anything stupid." Bash said in a serious tone.

Cyrus was unable to much other than let out sounds of confusion as he was dragged off by the three dragons, who were already going ahead and moving toward the portal gates.

"Well, that was not what I expected from this." Spyro stated simply, watching the four dragons leave him and his other friends behind.

"We should probably catch up to them," Drobot suggested. "I feel like they might smother Cyrus out of future cooperation." He said in a way that, coupled with the thin smile on his face, made Spyro feel like the coppery dragon was telling a joke.

"You're right, Drobot," Whirlwind agreed. "We should go." She said, taking a couple of steps forward. "Right guys?" She asked, looking back, aparantly noticing Spyro hadn't moved yet.

Spyro had suddenly gotten a slowly worsening headache. It was starting to make him knit his brow and want to hold his forehead.

Cynder seemed to notice this, since she turned her head toward Spyro, a slightly concerned look on her face. "Spyro? Are you alright?" She asked softly.

Spyro took a second to answer, distracted by the sudden discomfort. "Uh, yeah, I'm okay," He said quickly. "I just need a second." He said, taking his paw to his forehead to water down his headache. "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up in a second." He promised, forcing out a smile.

Cynder didn't seem completely sold by Spyro's words, but she seemed to keep her concern to herself for the moment. "C'mon guys," She started. "Let's go." She said, taking flight, followed shortly by Drobot and Whirlwind, the trio making way to the portal gates.

Meanwhile, Spyro was left alone in the little green isle, the sound of the wind on his ears as his headache grew ever so slightly.

"C'mon Spyro," The purple dragon began. "Get it together man." He ordered himself in a stern tone, slapping himself.

The self-given pep talk seemed to work, as Spyro's headache receded, making the Skylander's spirits rise a bit. With this, Spyro used his wings to lift himself off the ground. Once he was in the air, he began to fly toward the portal gates. As he got closer, he saw his friends, all huddled up. He also saw Sprocket pressing buttons and looking at screens behind her monitor, indicating that everyone was waiting on him.

This drove Spyro to fly faster and land in front of his fellow dragons, causing all eyes to fall on him. "Everyone ready?" He asked.

"You bet pal," Zap stated energetically.

"Sprocket, do you have any Relay Badges for us?" Cynder asked, stepping closer to the mechanic.

"Sorry, I'm kinda out of the things," Sprocket said apologetically. "But don't worry, the place you guys are going to has a portal to get you back." She said, raising her arm to give a casual thumbs up.

However, when Sprocket did this, Spyro noticed something. A small red sore on the mechanic's arm. "Sprocket?" Spyrp called, keeping his eyes on her wound. "Did you get burned with something recently?" He asked.

Sprocket's expression darkened as she quickly lowered her arm, worrying Spyro further.

"It is a story for another time," Drobot's voice came suddenly. "We need to focus on the task at hand for now." He stated.

Spyro noticed that Sprocket gave Drobot a small, thankful glance after the dragon deflected Spyro's question, again increasing Spyro's curiosity. But, Drobot had a point, so Spyro decided to leave things at that.

"Alright Sprocket," Spyro picked up, stepping up onto the portal gates. "Whenever you're ready." He stated.

At this, Sprocket nodded firmly before pressing several buttons on her monitor, which she then followed up by pulling on a lever.

A few seconds after that, Spyro's world became a bright shining white, and he felt his body become weightless. A fleeting moment afterwards, Spyro felt the ground materialize beneath him as the light around him faded and the world came into view. As Spyro stepped of the portal platform and was followed shortly after by his friends, Spyro began panning his head to scan his new environment.

The isle was rather large and was connected to a few smaller islands all around it. On each of these islands, stood several large buildings, decorated vibrantly with colorful signs and lights. There were large crowds of mabu entering and leaving these buildings. Some buildings looked like restaurants, others like shops and there were a few of them in the smaller islands surrounding the main landmass.

However, it was the middle of the main island that really drew Spyro's attention. It was a massive three story construct, made from wooden beams and stone walls, held in place by metal braces, all painted a shiny white, with a few blue and yellow details. The structure seemed sturdy and the outside seemed to be almost complete save for a couple of meters worth of walls and beams that were left unpainted. Spyro also noticed that there were a pair of large television screens above the main entrance to the building, which each had a large flashing message that read: _"Opening soon!"_ in colorful cursive.

It would have made Spyro wow with awe, but it didn't because out of nowhere, Spyro's headache returned, making him wince quietly and distracting him from the building.

"This appears to be a mall of some kind," Drobot stated, stepping forward. "I would assume that who we are looking for is inside that building." He said, pointing at the huge, unfinished building in front of them.

"Yeah, and that looks huge," Cynder followed up, looking at the structure.

"Maybe we could split up?" Zap suggested casually. "Cover more ground. We could find this architect guy faster and get a better grip on what we're supposed to do, right?" He said, seemingly convincing the others.

"That sounds like a good idea," Camo expressed. "Although… it would be easier with Sunburn here." He added, lowering his head and his voice.

This caused Zap to walk over to his friend and put a wing over him. "Hey man, don't worry about it, we can still manage," He said, trying to cheer the little dragon up. "Besides, we have a new team member, remember?" He added, pointing at Cyrus.

"I'm an official team member now?" Cyrus asked in a laid back tone. "That was fast." He added with a smirk.

This made Camo chuckle slightly, and also made Zap narrow his eyes. "You're an intern at best." The blue dragon corrected with a pout.

"Alright, alright," Cynder stepped in. "Let's get moving people, even if we split up, we'll have a lot of ground to cover," She stated. "Come on," She finished in a stern tone, waving for the others to follow her.

Spyro was trying too hard to keep his headache leveled to say anything, so when his fellow dragons started walking toward the building, eager to start their mission, he stayed behind, staring now almost blankly at the building in front of him.

His headache reached a sudden spike, changing the sensation from discomfort to pain. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was the dark, familiar voice that whispered from the corners of Spyro's mind.

" _Well... here we are."_ Dark Spyro's voice sounded, making Spyro close his eyes and frown, his anger boiling up steadily. _"You can feel it, can't you?"_ His dark twin asked. _"You already know what's coming, don't you?"_ He asked a cruelly mocking edge in his voice.

Spyro didn't answer, he felt like he didn't need to.

He just opened his eyes and looked vacantly ahead, not really focused on anything as he felt a familiar sensation crawl up his spine, filling him with a silent dread.

He forced himself to believe that what he felt was nothing more than the wind, blowing against his neck. but as Spyro started walking towards his friends, he knew deep down, that the grim cold that was spreading through him could only mean one thing…

* * *

Master Eon was floating through the common room, stroking his beard in thought.

"Eon, would you relax?" Kaossandra demanded. "I can feel waves of stress rolling off of you." She hissed as she rubbed her temples.

"I'm sorry," The portal master apologised. "I suppose I'm just a bit tense with the situation at hand."

"I am too Eon," Kaossandra admitted letting out a tired sigh. "But you should know by now neither one of us in a position to do anything about it." She said in a sad tone.

The sorceress seemed to emanate a feeling of helplessness, and Eon shared the sentiment. It was particularly frustrating to be unable to help Spyro or any of the Skylanders for that matter. He couldn't even help manage the Academy since Kaossandra had already taken over his position as headmaster. He was just a wisp of air, useless and unimportant, and with how things were now, with the evil of the dragon slayers of all things returning once again, Eon could swear he felt sick.

"Kaossandra," Eon called softly, drawing the sorceress' attention. "The truth…" He said in a way that left it clear to Kaossandra what he was talking about. "You don't think-"

"No," Kaossandra snaped suddenly. "Eon, they will not do it, we won't let them." She stated, glaring determinately. "The Skylands can't have the past unearthed, it just can't happen."

Eon's expression darkened. He clenched his fists and furrowed his brow. He was feeling conflicted. He had been trying to be more open about the past and his mistakes recently. He liked to think he had been making progress, coming clean about his relationship with Kaos, giving Spyro more information on his ancestors, revealing what he knew about Omen's magics, and a couple other things.

But this final dark secret, he had not given up. It was the last skeleton in his closet. And despite Eon telling himself he was doing the right thing by keeping it to himself, a part of him already knew better, a part that looked back on the results of his previous deceptions.

However, Eon was distracted from his thoughts by Kaossandra. The elder portal master saw his partner shudder and hug herself, letting out a shaky exhale.

"Wow, Eon, is there some sort of roaming cold spot in this Academy?" She asked as she rubbed her arms, confusing the ethereal portal master.

Before Eon could ask what Kaossandra was talking about, since he couldn't feel any cold, he was cut off by the sound of someone knocking on the common room's main doorway.

"Master Eon? Kaossandra?" A familiar, female voice came. "Are you in there?"

Eon focused for a moment before recalling who the voice belonged to. His face light up for a moment when he remembered. "Ah, Flashwing!" He named the crystalline dragoness. "Please, come in." He invited.

Eon tried composing himself for the young dragoness, putting on a smile. However, as the blue doors opened and revealed who was behind them, Eon's heart sank and his smile faded slowly.

"How inviting of you," A new voice, also familiar, yet distressing to hear, filled the room. "I thought you wouldn't want to see me." The voice said as its source stepped closer and closer to the middle of the room, revealing itself.

It was Vixen, the pale dragon slayer had made her way into the Academy. Other than her ragged clothes, she looked almost identical to the day Eon first met her, a disturbing detail considering it had been over a hundred years since then. But Eon didn't pay much mind to the dragon slayer's appearance, he was more concerned about the fact she was holding Flashwind by the scruff of her neck, and holding her brown bracer's extendable blade against the dragoness' neck.

Flashwing seemed to be holding back tears. She was trying to lift her head away from the sharp silver blade that was being pressed against her throat, but to no avail, Vixen wasn't giving her any wiggle room.

"Vixen," Kaossandra spoke up, speaking slowly. "Please don't hurt-"

"You remodeled the place." Vixen said abruptly, cutting Kaossandra off. The dragon slayer panned her head around innocently. _"It looks kind of ugly now,"_ She added in a mumble. "I remember this place looking very differently, you know," Vixen began speaking out loud, uninterrupted.

"I remember there being a round table _here_ ," She said, pointing at the middle of the room. "Where we would talk about our plans, talk about our next move." She recalled.

Eon did nothing. Even as Vixen began walking around as if she was welcome in the Academy, still holding Flashwing, he did nothing.

"I remember there being a huge map," Vixen continued, fixating her eye on the wall over the balcony, seeing something Eon could only picture through his memory. "That let us see everything happening in the Skylands, a guideline for swift action." She kept talking, her voice soft with remembrance.

"I also remember the line of dragon skulls that used to be over there," She added suddenly, looking over to where now bookshelves stood.

"Vixen, that's enough," Eon said suddenly, noticing the new look of horror in Flashwing's face. "Please, just tell m-"

"But do you know what I remember the most from back then?" Vixen cut him off, in an almost angry tone, not facing him yet. "I remember a man, who believed in what we were doing, a man who knew that were were doing the right thing," She said, her voice low and steady, but anger palpably increasing beneath it's composure.

Then, Eon saw Vixen turn around and look up at him. The portal master flinched as Vixen fixed her cold, lifeless eye on him. The eye itself didn't move, it's pupil was a tiny black bullet, aimed directly at Eon. But the venom that came from Vixen's putrefact voice was more than enough to convey her emotions.

"I remember _you_ , _Master Eon_ " She hissed his name, the silent, bottled up rage in her words made Eon shiver, even as the dragon slayer's body language was that of a corpse, stiff and emotionless.

"Vixen," Kaossandra called again. "What do you want?" She asked.

"What do I want!?" Vixen turned to Kaossandra suddenly, yanking Flashwing along, causing her whimper. "I want what I've always wanted, Kaossandra." She spat. "But to get it I need something from you first, something you've hidden in this Academy." She stated.

"I want Strykore's book," She said simply. "The Black Savant's Hand." She called the tome by name.

The mere mention of the book was enough to make Eon's heart stop for a second. The thought of someone like Vixen using it?

Eon's stomach dropped. "No." He said suddenly, his mind already thinking of the horrible things Vixen could do with such a dark tome.

"What was that?" Vixen asked dangerously, glaring at Master Eon.

"You are not getting that book," Eon stated, trying to sound decisive. "It is hidden away and out of your reach, and we will not help you get it."

Vixen looked silently at Eon, narrowing her eyes. "I think you're forgetting something." She said, tilting her blade upwards and pressing it against Flashwing's scales.

" _Please,"_ The dragoness whispered, looking beggingly at Eon, weakening his resolve to thwart Vixen.

"You know me, _Master_ Eon," Vixen spoke suddenly. "Do you really think you can stop me before I kill this one?" She said, jerking Flashwing. "Do you really think I would stop there? Tell me, just how many of your little students do you think I could get to before you stop me? I'm not comfortable with spilling blood that doesn't belong to a dragon, but for this, I'll make an exception." She promised.

Eon stayed silent, the tension in the air unbearable. Before long, the tension was broken by Kaossandra. "Vixen please, we all know you aren't truly a bad person, you were a wife once, a mother," She said in a worried tone. Her word's making Vixen flinch.

"Vixen, it is time to leave your grudges behind," Master Eon began slowly. "I understand that you are angry and in pain, but I must ask you-" He paused, putting his hands together, and lowering his ethereal body lower to the ground to meet Vixen eye to eye. "Not to do this." He pleaded.

The dragon slayer stayed silent and perfectly still. However, Eon's senses were sharpened by the tension and he noticed that Vixen had ever so slightly loosened her grip on Flashwing, and a miniscule flicker of emotion flashed in her eye.

However, Vixen's expression changed, she bared her sharp, yellowed fangs in a frown. "You really though you could use my family to sweet talk me out of this?" She asked venomously. "Well then…"

Eon was starting to panic as he saw Vixen start to press her blade harder against Flashwing's neck, causing a thin line of red to be drawn and the dragoness to choke out a gasp.

But then, before Eon could do anything, Vixen let out a strained groan and stumbled forward, actually letting go of Flashwing and causing the dragoness to fall to the ground.

Eon was momentarily confused, but when as he saw a recuperating Vixen be struck in the back by a blast of pink lightning, he understood.

"Flashwing, get out of here now!" Kaossandra shouted as she charged another magic attack.

However, as Eon lowered her head to look at Flashwing, he noticed that the dragoness hadn't moved, she was grunting and feebly trying to get on her feet, but she couldn't move. That's when Eon remembered Vixen's swords, the effect they had.

And then, almost as if had jinxed things, Eon could only yell out a warning as he saw Vixen draw one of her icy blue swords and throw it at Kaossandra with blinding speed.

In response to this, Kaossandra conjured a wall of pink energy in front of her, and just a second after, Vixen's sword shattered against it, creating a small white mist. However, the dragon slayer wasn't done. She dashed towards Kaossandra and leaped against her magic wall, stabbing her silver blade through it, spreading a web of cracks across its surface.

Kaossandra grunted from the exchange, but then fired her own attack through her energy wall, shattering it and sending Vixen sprawling back.

"Eon!" Kaossandra shouted, turning her head toward him. "Go get hel-"

Kaossandra's voice gave out when a sharp sword crashed against her chest, knocking her into her chair.

"Kaossandra!" Eon shouted, distress at the sight of the unconscious sorceress. She wasn't a dragon, she didn't have additional protection against Vixen's swords, it worried Eon deeply.

"Alright," Vixen's voice came suddenly, drawing Eon's attention to her. "I think we're clear on everyone's position here," Vixen stated, turning to Eon, giving him a deadly glare. "The book. _Now._ " She demanded in tone that made it clear she was finished here, people were going to start dying now.

Eon looked at Flashwing, then at Kaossandra, and lastly at Vixen. The pale fox-like monster was unflinching, unbelievably tense as she put her hand's at her sides, keeping her swords at the ready.

Eon slowly came to the conclusion that there was simply no way around this. He couldn't have Kaossandra or Flashwing die because of him, not in front of him, not like this. So, with a heavy heart, Eon lowered his head and closed his eyes, a shameful frown on his face.

Using the few silvers of magical power he had in his ethereal form, Eon focused and called forth the image of a book. A thick black tome, with a red ten-point star on the cover.

When Eon opened his eyes and lifted his head, it was there floating idly over his hands. Eon could feel his frown accent itself as a hint of anger filled his being. This was after all, the book that had taken his brother away from him. And now, as he saw Vixen swipe the book away, and looking at it intently, he realized, it could soon be the book that would take Spyro away from him too.

"Alright, it is the real thing," Vixen said as she flipped over a couple of pages, pleased. "Thank you _Master_ Eon," She said mockingly with a cruel grin.

After this, Vixen pulled out what Eon recognized as a walky-talky and proceeded to speak into it. "Guys, I have the book." She announced as she hid the tome behind her purple skin cape. "I'll get into position."

" _Ausgezeichnet!"_ Krall's croaky voice sounded through the device. "I'm already here, and our one-eyed friend is ready too!" He announced proudly.

"Great job," Vixen said with a smile. _"Let's just hope Tarrare gets here in time."_ She muttered, glancing away from the walky-talky.

" _J'ai entendu cela."_ Tarrare's voice suddenly stated in a slightly irritated tone.

"Very well," Vixen picked up. "Everyone get ready…" She paused, suddenly turning her head to face Eon. "I'll be there." She said, hanging up.

"Vixen," Eon tired, his dread making his voice slower. "I'm begging you, I know you are angry, that your wound's have not yet healed-"

"You're right, _Master_ Eon," Vixen interrupted suddenly. "My wounds haven't healed," She said, taking a hand to her face to slowly lift away the pale blond hair that covered her right eye. "Don't you remember?" She hissed.

Eon didn't want to see what Vixen had revealed. He didn't want to be reminded of the grizzly sight. And not only that, but Eon didn't want to lay eyes on a permanent testament to Vixen's point.

"I _am_ angry Eon, more than you can ever know, I've been angry for over a hundred years" The portal master heard Vixen growl, "But that's not all, I'm not just mad," She paused. "I'm disappointed… disappointed in _you_." She spat.

Eon stayed silent, cueing Vixen to continue. "You used to be a man I could follow, someone whose will was strong, someone who _understood_." She entonated. "But I guess I was wrong… you are just a coward Master... a coward and a liar, who was far too quick to forgive those _lizards_." She hissed, her hatred pouring out into her voice, making Eon flinch.

"But it will all be better soon," Vixen said, giving out a small sigh. "We are going to fix things… we will show everyone… the truth." She promised.

At those words, at the fact of what they meant, Eon reacted. He lifted his head and opened his eyes to give one last effort at stopping Vixen. But it was no use. The dragon slayer swatted his ethereal form away, dispersing it into blue mist.

As his form dispersed, so did Eon's thoughts, his consciousness. As his being was cast out into emptiness, Eon could feel his failure weighing down on him even now.

* * *

 _Author's notes_

 _Oh my god, finally!_

 _Hey evryone, It's me, ya boi! I'm finaly back! I want to thank eveyone who stuck with this story even after so long, you guys are amazing. The final chapters are also coming, thats a promise. I'm not 100% sure of when they are gonna come out, but they will, hopefully alot faster. In the mean time, I'll still be taking questions from you (Remember I won't give spoilers.)_

\- I still don't own Skylanders Academy

\- One down! Sunburn has left the Skylanders!?

\- Vixen, the grim herald of _truth.._. Just what is she planing?


	12. Chapter 12

**Skylanders Academy: Song of the Hunt**

by andresponceb2002

 **Chapter 12) Open Season. Pt 2**

Spyro walked slowly, catching up to his companions, his thoughts were dulled out slightly by the ringing in his head.

" _I can't wait to be free again,"_ Dark Spyro's voice rang inside Spyro's head. _"All the things I'm gonna do, all the places I'm gonna see!"_ He said in a sinisterly cheerful voice.

"Shut up," Spyro grumbled, trying to keep his voice down while at the same time forcing out his dark self's own words.

"Spyro?" A new voice said suddenly, making Spyro focus. "Are you alright?" It was Cyrus, his brother was looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm good." Spyro replied, shaking his head, his attention now on his brother. "Are we splitting up yet?" He asked as he raised his head and started scanning his surroundings.

He and his companions, who stood nearby, were also looking around. They group of dragons had entered the huge mall and were currently in a wide open area which had a stairway, which ascended upwards to two more floors. It also had openings which led to other parts of the mall, alleys lined by empty spaces which Spyro guessed would eventually become shops of some kind. Everything was lacking any sort of paint job and was mostly covered in cast-colored gray.

"Wow, this place really is huge." Camo said in wonder, lifting his head up to the ceiling above. "How are we even gonna find the architect?" He asked.

There was a brief pause of silence as the dragons tried coming up with an idea. But before long, Cynder spoke up. "I could use my tracking power to see where the architect is!" She suggested.

At that, Spyro's memory suddenly kick-started and his eyes went round for a split second. "Ohhh, right." He said with a slow nod.

"She can track stuff?" Camo asked in an amazed tone, his tail wagging slightly. "Wow thats so cool! You probably have never lost anything you own have you?" He asked, turning his head toward Cynder.

"Only a couple of things," Cynder replied. "I've only unlocked this ability for a short while, but it is pretty helpful." She stated with a proud smile."But I do need to focus to get it to work, so… everyone keep quiet for a moment please." She said in kind, yet serious tone.

"Alright guys," Spyro began, taking a step back from his friend. "Let's give her some space." He said, cueing the other dragons to step back as well.

At this, Cynder closed her eyes and raised her head. The violet dragoness then started to furrow her brow slightly, focusing. A few moments passed while everyone waited, keeping silent and distracting themselves. And then, the silence was broken when Cynder let out a loud sigh and opened her eyes, her brow still furrowed seeming confused.

"Well?" Bash began suddenly. "Did you find him?" He asked.

"N-No," Cynder replied shakily. "I couldn't pinpoint him." She stated. "I can feel him in here, somewhere…" She added, taking a wandering gaze through the vast room. "But I couldn't tell where he was exactly. It's almost like he's hiding on purpose."

Spyro was a little unnerved by that, a chill wind blowing against his neck. "What does that mean?" He asked nervously.

"I don't know," Cynder replied, a concerned look on her face.

"Well, then" Zap spoke up loudly. " I guess we should split up and find this guy." the blue said, referring to the architect. they had been sent here to help out. "Else we're gonna be here all day." He added.

"You're right Zap," Spyro agreed, trying to keep his cool. "But we shouldn't take too long, we shouldn't get isolated or lost here." He said, taking a wandering look around. "So, if no one finds anything in half an hour, we should regroup here and call Kaossandra." He stated. "Next time the architect guy should tell us where he is in the first place." He said with an annoyed edge.

"You can say that again," Zap said with a chuckle. "That sounds like a plan. So, how are we splitting up?" He asked.

"I suggest four teams of two," Drobot's synthesised voice answered. "One team on this ground floor, two in the middle level and one in the uppermost level." He said without hesitation.

Everyone stayed silent for a moment, looking at Drobot strangely. "Uh, did you rehearse all that?" Zap asked. "Come her aften or something?"

"I simply ran a superficial scan of the building while we were talking," Drobot replied simply. "The structure is quite large, but with the split I proposed we can cover the most ground and move most efficiently and in better time." He stated, the yellow light on his eyes intensifying slightly.

"Well Drobot," Spyro began, turning over to his friend. "I trust your judgement," He stated honestly. "If you think that's what we should do, then that's how we're doing this." He said with a smile.

Drobot seemed taken back by this, as he stayed silent for a moment, and the lights on his eyes flickered for a moment. However, soon enough he composed himself and spoke. "Yes, I believe this is the best course of action." He replied firmly.

At that, Spyro let out a small smile and sighed, "Alright then, let's split up gang."

* * *

Cynder walked beside Spyro, as the two made their way to uppermost level of the mall. The two were walking up the stairway, keeping an eye out for any sign of the architect.

"Where even is this guy?" Cynder asked, genuinely confused. "You'd think there would at least give us some kind of directions."

"I'm not sure," Spyro replied as the two of them finally reached the end of the stairs. "But, I think there's supposed to be some kind of office, right?" He paused, turning over to Cynder. "You know, that place with all the screens and desks?" He said, adding peculiar gestures as if to help Cynder visualize.

"Yeah, I think I get what you mean," Cynder said, a vague image of what Spyro meant popping up in her mind. "We should be on the lookout for that, then."

After this new agreement, the two dragons began walking down a pathway which led down to their left. The path had an unfinished, flimsy-looking railing that prevented people from falling down to ground two floors beneath. And on the opposite side of this, were even more empty spaces, destined for future businesses.

Cynder and Spyro walked for a couple of minutes, passing no outstanding sights or any indication of where they were supposed to go. Cynder was starting to get a little frustrated.

She was about to complain and suggest she and Spyro check a diferent part of the building, but before she could, she was cut off by her partner's voice.

"Hey, Cynder?" Spyro called, making Cynder turn her head towards him. "Maybe we should check in _here_?" He suggested.

Cynder noticed Spyro was gesturing down a small corridor that split the empty spaces on their previous path. The corridor was rather narrow, and very dimly light, Cynder only understood why Spyro wanted to go this way when her eyes wandered upward, and she noticed the tiny black sign, labeled with white text that read. _"Staff Only",_ Cynder guessed it was a start.

After a second of hesitation, Cynder followed Spyro in. The two dragons went down the corridor, until they reached a simple black door with a dursty, not even fully translucent glass pane. It had a silver handle and it was hanging ajar.

Spyro seemed uneasy as he pushed the door open and walked through to the new room. As the two dragons entered, Cynder felt a little bit of a chill crawl up her spine.

The room was rather spacious. It had a couple of sturdy wooden beams holding up it's roof, a dusty flooring and there was as gaping hole near a corner to Cynder's right which she assumed was supposed to filled in at some point. There were also a few stacks of building materials like wood, cement, rebar and other stuff piled up here and there, creating a few makeshift obstacles.

"Hello?" Spyro tried, his voice echoing slightly through the room. "Anyone here?" He tried again, stepping toward the center of the room, which was mostly blocked by the piles of materials.

"We're the Skylanders you called here?" Cynder added, panning her head around.

There was a short silence. Cynder felt rather uneasy, a strange feeling hung over her, whispering in the back of her mind. She noticed Spyro was not feeling much better. The purple dragon tried to keep his composure, but he was tense, his eyes darting through the room, clearly stressed about something.

And all that stress snapped free when a strange voice filled the room, causing Spyro to let out a yelp and take a step backwards.

"H-Hello?" The voice called, sounding male and unfamiliar to Cynder. "Did you say _S-Skylanders_?" The voice asked in a strange way, jittery and unsure.

"Yeah, that's us," Cynder replied, attempting to sound friendly. "Are you the architect?" She asked the voice.

"Yup, that's me! Hehe…" The voice responded. "Marvin Sheev, beginner architect. Pleased to meet you!" The voice introduced itself.

Cynder felt a dose of relief as she heard those words, at least the had found the guy they were looking for. She let out a small sigh, glad they had made some progress. "Well, come out sir," Cynder invited, still unable to see the architect through the many piles of material. "We'd appreciate a rundown of what we're supposed to do here."

There was a short silence, just long enough to make Cynder feel uncomfortable. However, Marvin did respond. "Actually…" He began, shakily. "I think you guys should come here, instead," He suggested, giggling nervously afterwards. "Yeah, because uhhh… I'm…" He paused, again in a very suspicious manner. " _Sitting down_! Yeah, I'm already sitting down! That's all!" He said, laughing again, this time sounding clearly forced, if not outright panicky.

"Sir?" Cynder asked, taking a step forward. "Are you alrig-"

Cynder was cut off when she felt herself bump into something. She looked down to see Spyro's arm, stretched out before her, preventing her from moving forward. She looked up at her companion with a confused expression, however, when she laid eyes on Spyro's face, she knew something was wrong.

His brow was furrowed, and he kept his eyes firmly ahead, small drops of sweat on his temple. "Cynder," He called, not moving an inch. "I think we should leave," He said in a quiet tone, almost a whisper.

"Why?" She asked back, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Yes, lizard," A dreadfully familiar voice echoed through the room, sending chills down Cynder's neck. "Why would you want to leave so quickly?"

Cynder then quickly turned her head to the source of the voice, already instinctively in battle pose.

Rearing his skeletal hat out of the unfinished hole in the floor not far from her, Krall had his glowing yellow eye fixed on her. It was curved upwards, indication a sinister smile was hiding behind the dragon slayer's mask.

Cynder's stomach dropped further down that she thought was possible. _"This is a trap,"_ She realized, her heart roaring in growing panic. _"This whole thing is a trap!"_

It took no time at all for the cruel sensation that came with the dragon slayer's presence, manifested in full, covering her body in a horrible, biting cold that was already making her shiver and shake.

"Run!" Spyro shouted desperately, moving outside of Cynder's field of vision.

He didn't have to tell her twice. Cynder immediately began turning towards the exit of the room, the flimsy gray door that was still open behind them. She moves as fast as her frightened body would allow, Spyro running ahead of her.

But then, before either dragon could cross the door's frame to escape, Cynder saw a new figure jump into view, blocking their path. The figure them shoot one of it's arms forward, hand extended.

Taken completely off guard, Cynder nor Spyro could react in time, and the violet dragoness could only react as she saw her friend be grabbed tightly by the neck, only to be tossed like a ragdoll at one of the large piles of materials in the room.

"Spyro!" Cynder cried as she looked over to her stunned friend, who was slowly getting on his feet.

However, Cynder wasn't given much time to linger on her friend, as she suddenly felt her own neck be gripped tightly by the figure.

With her attention now abruptly focused on the figure, Cynder gasped at the sight of the figure's face, her memories franticly jumping into gear.

It was Unulus, the pale, armored cyclop was here, and Cynder started panicking at the notion. _"Wasn't he in Cloudcracker prison!? How did he get here!? Is he working with the dragon slayers!?"_ Each, concerning question quickly making its way through Cynder's mind as she tried to catch even a single breath through Unulu's grip.

"This isn't how I would have done things," The cyclop spoke, in a strangely regretful tone. "But it is necessary… I hope you understand that." He finished, avoiding Cynder's eyes. The dragoness then noticed that Unulus then looked at someone behind her, his gaze hardening. "Have some honor and kill her quickly." He growled.

The response that came from Krall sent chills down her spine. "No promises, she still owes me some teeth!" He said with a sinister chuckle.

At that, Cynder's mind conjured up images of her first encounter with the dragon slayer. The searing, throbbing pain that came when Krall ripped her tooth out, echoed in her mouth, sending Cynder into an even deeper state of panic.

Then, Cynder felt herself be thrown through the air by Unulus. At this, she tried spreading her wings to balance herself, but she then felt a deathly cold hand grip one of her hind legs, only to then pull her down harshly.

As Cynder descended, she could hear Spyro cry out her name in despair, the sound of his voice dulled out by the echo of Krall's maniacal laughter.

The next thing Cynder's scenes managed to register, was the painful sensation of her body slamming on dusty concrete. Her ears were ringing and there was a heavy taste of iron in her mouth, a dull, throbbing pain vibrating through her body as she tried to stand up.

She had to have fallen down a whole floor through that hole, since as she panned her head, the violet dragoness saw that she was in a diferent, albeit very similar room, piles of material, concrete beams and everything.

She then glanced upward, and far above her head, she saw the gaping hole she had fallen down through. Cynder could hear a multitude of loud sounds coming from up there, making her deduce there was a fight going on.

However, Cynder was forced to focus quickly in her own complications. "Well, now!" A familiar, croaky voice began behind her, making her quickly turn around to face it's source and take a defensive stance.

Only a few feet away, was Krall, looking at her intently. "I am afraid I can't kill you just yet," The maroon imp stated, in an audibly disappointed tone. "And that cyclop guy won't stop bothering about honor if I make a set of dice out of your teeth… _noch_ " He added, letting out a low sigh and rolling his glowing eye. "So, you'll just have to stay put for me for a second." He finished in a much more serious voice, focusing on Cynder.

The dragoness noticed that both of Krall's hands were balled up into fists, implying that he had something at the ready for her. Cynder also noticed that the imp's second pair of arms was folded into mushy lumps on his back, like they had been during the beginning of their first encounter.

At that, Cynder swallowed and shivered slightly. She lowered her body closer to the ground and folded her wings slightly, making herself a smaller target for the dragons slayer's ranged attacks.

There was a tense pause, neither Cynder or Krall moved or let out a sound. That was until Cynder saw Krall pull his arm back, about to throw something at her.

And then, The dragon slayer shoot his arm forward at Cynder in a blinding motion. The speed of the projectile was such, that Cynder was unable to even see it in the air before she dodged by side-stepping to her left.

After this, Cynder decided to take the offensive. She used her wings to boost herself forward, directly at the dragon slayer in front of her. As she got closer, Cynder saw Krall ready his other hand behind him and a second later, the imp released a cloud of red smoke in front of himself.

However, Cynder smirked, she had been expecting something like this. So, in an impressive reaction, the violet dragoness turned her body into a mass of dark mist. She then dashed through the wall of red smoke in front of her, the harmful substance not bothering her phantasmal body.

Cynder kept going, shadow dashing not just through the cloud of red smoke, but also through Krall's body. After this, Cynder began to feel her body materialize once again. She felt her paws touch the concrete beneath her and then immediately began calling forth her lightning, ready to unleash her attack on the dragon slayer.

But then, something happened. Cynder felt an ice cold hammer slam against her cheek, the impact knocking her off her balance. However, what disturbed cynder the most was the fact that even as she was about to land roughly against the stone floor, she couldn't put her paws up or try to break her fall.

That's when she remembered that Krall had a collection of tiny marbles, some of which could paralyze people. She remembered the sensation, the very same that was now pulsing through her cheek. Like a snowball coated in thick ice.

She had not even realized the imp had the marble ready, she hadn't even seen him draw it form hsi pouch. _"He didn't draw it form the pouch."_ Cynder suddenly realized. _"The first throw… it was a feint."_ She told herself, beating herself down for not noticing the now obvious trick. Of course she hadn't seen Krall's projectile, he hadn't thrown it.

And so, with her body firmly refusing to do what she told it to, Cynder was sprawled on the ground, Krall looming over her.

"Well, now that that's dealt with," Krall's croaky voice sounded as the dragon slayer reared his skeletal mask into Cynder's now restricted field of view. "I have to help deal with your friend upstairs," He stated. "See you later! And remember-" He added, suddenly pointing at Cynder with one of his sharp, black claws. "You still owe me those teeth we talked about!"

With that, Krall gave Cynder a mocking goodbye in his peculiar language before leaving her sprawled on the ground, unable to even scream from how powerless she felt, how much she hated being unable to help those she held dear.

Cynder tried desperately to squirm, puting every bit of strength she had into her efforts, but it was useless. She could only watch motionless, despair steadily growing in her heart as Krall began to crawl up one of the nearby beams upwards to the floor Spyro was still in, his second pair of arms twitching and stretching, getting ready…

* * *

Spyro was having trouble, his body ached from the many blows he had already received.

The purple dragon had fought the gangly cyclop chieftain in the past and had come out victorious, but this was diferent. The many beams and piles of materials, coupled with a short ceiling, made this fight claustrophobic and tight, things that didn't go well with Spyro.

On the other hand, it worked wonders for Unulus. The small fighting space narrowed the amount of directions Spyro could dodge the cyclop's long reaching attacks. It had already been three times when Spyro tried soaring above a swing from Unulus' crystalline falchion, only to bump into a nearby obstacle, startling himself and opening himself up to receive a punch from Unulus' metal gauntlet right between the eyes.

In such close quarters, Spyro had a difficult time taking the offensive. He didn't even have the fleeting seconds he needed to charge up his breath attacks and he knew Unulus was a good hand to hand combatant.

He needed to put space between him and his enemy. So, seeing Unulus pulling his sword arm back and getting ready for another swing, Spyro readied his counter. As Unulus' swung his falchion, Spyro let himself fall down, ducking under the attack, however, the second he felt his paws touch the ground, Spyro sprung himself forward, boosting himself further with his wings.

He then lowered his head, and rammed into Unulus' chest with explosive speed, creating a flash of orange flames on collision. The impact sent the cyclops flying backwards and made him fall roughly on the ground.

As Unulus tried to get back on his feet, Spyro was breathing hard, a painful headache distorting his concentration. He had to help Cynder, he had to get her out of here, he had to get his friends out of here. Far away from this wretched trap.

So, taking advantage of Unulus' stunned state, Spyro hurried over to the hole Cynder had been dragged down through, ready to rush down and help her deal with Krall.

However, just as Spyro reared his head down the hole to see what situation was waiting for him, he felt something rise and connect with his jaw, sending a wave of throbbing pain as his head was lifted upwards from the blow.

His scales cushioned the blow somewhat, but the force behind it was immense, which combined with Spyro's headache, was more than enough to disorient him.

But then, Spyro felt something grab his tail, squeezing painfully only to pull with tremendous force. He managed to see, out of the corner of his eye, that Unulus had begun to lift him off the ground and swung Spyro over his head, like a pillow. The next thing Spyro felt, was his body being slammed against the ground, a sensation of dullening pressure splashed over his chest and knocked the air out of him, preventing him from gathering the strength to get up.

"Hehehe, _gute arbeit mein freund_!" Krall's voice began cheerfully. "You weren't lying when you said you had practice fighting this lizard!" He added, his voice sounding closer to Spyro.

The purple dragon tilted his head and groaned, pushing himself upward, as he saw Krall's hunchback figure looming over him, his yellow eye shimmering with malice and all four of his clawed hands stretched out, one of which was holding the maroon imp's rusty metal pliers.

But then, Spyro's focus shifted off Krall when he felt a heavy iron boot stomp on his head, bringing him crashing down on the dusty floor beneath him, drilling a brand new dose of pain into his head.

Spyro was caught so distracted, he didn't even realize who had attacked him until they spoke. "Stay down." Unulus' voice commanded emotionlessly, putting more pressure down on Spyro, who was too battered not to comply.

"Alright!" Krall began suddenly, skittering away from Spyro and heading toward the door. "Well there is no chance in the Underworld the other lizards didn't hear all of that racket," He stated reasonably. "So you and I will have to put up a bit of distraction _mein freund_!" Krall said, gesturing at Unulus to join him.

Spyro looked up at eh pale cyclop above him. He growled, making one last try to lift himself off the ground to try to shoot a fireball at his stupid bulging eye, but it was no use, he couldn't move under his old enemy's boot.

"Make sure he can't leave," Unulus demanded, keeping his focus on Spyro rather than on Krall. "We can't afford to have our focus be divided between him and his friends." He stated.

"Hmmm, good point," Krall admitted, pulling something out of his pouch. "I Think I have just the thing!" He declared as he pulled his hand out, revealing what looked like a miniature wooden totem, depicting a sinister crow.

Krall then walked over to the hole he had dragged Cynder down through and jammed the totem near the edge. After this, a glowing purple sheen of light covered the hole, effectively blocking it. Afterwards, Krall took a couple of steps back, already searching for something else inside his pouch.

"Done," The imp said plainly. "Let's go!" He added, hopping energetically to the door, this time grabbing Unulus by the hand, yanking him along.

"Hey!" The cyclop exclaimed as he was dragged along by the tiny imp.

"Komm schon, mann!" Krall complained loudly over Unulus as he kept dragging the cyclop chieftain along with him. "Those lizards are coming!"

And then, a few seconds later, Krall dragged Unulus through the door frame through which Spyro had entered the room, slamming it shut after both villains had crossed through, leaving the purple dragon by himself.

Spyro groaned, his body aching from the blows he had received. His mind was running wild, desperately trying to process the situation.

He and his friends had been led into a trap, Unulus was working with the dragon slayers, Cynder had been taken away by Krall… Spyro's head was spinning just from getting coming to terms with it all.

But among one of those shocked thoughts, one stood out. He had seen Cynder be dragged down the hole in the corner of the room. He needed to see if she was alright.

He rushed over to the hole. He immediately tried punching through the shimmering purple barrier Krall's totem had cast, but it was no use. Even as Spyro's paws began to throb from him slamming them against the glowing surface, the magical barrier didn't seem to weaken in the slightest.

Spyro began to hyperventilate. His rushing mind made his thoughts bounce from Cynder to his brother and his friends. They were also in danger, Unulus and Krall were going after them.

The purple dragon then used his wings to boost himself toward the door the two villains had taken to exit. He lowered his head as he approached, aiming to ram the shabby door down and not waste time.

However, as Spyro felt his head slam against the surface of the door, the taste of iron filled his mouth and a sharp ringing dulled his ears. Spyro then felt himself fall to the ground, letting out a pained groan as he tried to get up.

As he lifted his gaze to see what had happened, Spyro's eyes went round. Revealed by the shattered wooden door, was another barrier, identical to the one covering the hole in the room's corner, and just like that one, this barrier's purple surface was completely undaunted by Spyro's attacks. Krall had indeed blocked him off from leaving the room.

Spyro let out a furious, desolate scream as he banged his fists against the magical barrier to no avail. Ne really couldn't do anything to help his friends, and it made Spyro feel powerless.

It was only after Spyro's paws began aching that he let up his pummeling of the barrier, defeated. He could hear his own uneven, desperate breaths echo lightly through the room.

But then, a voice came, focusing Spyro. "Hello?" Marvin Sheev called. "Skylanders? Are you there?" He called again. "Please, come here, I don't want this to drag out anymore…" He added in a down tone. "Just do what they want… maybe that way no one will get hurt."

Spyro didn't respond, he just turned his head toward the source of the architect's voice, his heart heavy with dreadful anticipation, because he knew there was no way this was ending with no one getting hurt.

However, his enemies had narrowed down Spyro's options to the point he didn't really have a choice. He couldn't leave the room to help his friends and he couldn't stand idly by while Marvin was used as a hostage. So, taking a deep breath and bracing himself, Spyro moved forward.

The purple dragon began walking past the many piles of materials that had created the barrier which prevented him from seeing Marvin in the first place. Once he did this, Spyro realized the room he was in was much larger than he had originally though, as the miniature maze of stacked cinder blocks, wooden planks and rebar stretched on for what felt like a whole minute to Spyro.

However, after passing the sacks of materials Spyro found himself in an open space, clear of obstacles outside of the pillars that held up the roof.

And it was in the center of this clear space, several feet away, that Spyro found Marvin, tied down to a metal chair. The architect, clearly a middle aged mabu, was dressed formally and didn't seem to have any injuries, however, he was hanging his head low and was shutting his eyes closed.

"I'm terribly sorry." Marvin said, his genuine regret palpable.

Spyro looked at Marvin with pity. "Don't be," he spoke softly. "This isn't your fault," He said, meaning his words. "Guilt isn't going to get us out of this." He added as he stepped closer, ready to cut Marvin's restraints loose.

"You are correct, little dragon." A new voice echoed through the room, making Spyro instinctively get into a defensive stance and pan his head around the room, searching for the voice's source.

As the voice's raspy, corpse-like sound reached Spyro's ears, a wave of biting cold gripped his body. His' fingers almost went numb and Spyro was suddenly able to see his own breath puff out in front of him. As Spyro let out a shaky breath and lifted his head, he noticed that Marvin was similarly affected, his teeth clattering form the brutal cold.

"But make no mistake…" The voice continued suddenly, drawing closer yet still sourceless. "You are right in feeling guilty."

It was then, that Spyro saw a familiar figure emerge from the shadows of the room. Her grimm, slender figure and distinctively ragged attire, coupled with the grimm, purple trophy she carried on her shoulder, made Spyro recognize her instantly.

"V-Vixen," He whispered the dragon slayer's name as she bared her jagged, yellow fangs at him in a twisted grin.

"The one and only," Vixen said with mocking pride as she raised her arms up and walked closer to Spyro. "I feel like I must thank you!" She said.

Spyro could feel his heart begin to drop. "Why would you have to thank me for?" He asked back, trying in vain to sound demanding, which only made Vixen's jagged grinn to become more pronounced.

"You brought all of your friends with you!" Vixen replied simply. "Well…" She paused, raising her head and sniffing the air, completely disregarding Spyro for a moment. "It seems you made the phoenix mongrel sit this one out." She said in a mildly disappointed tone. _"Guess we'll have to get him later then…"_ She added in a mumble.

Connecting the dots left by Vixen's commentary, Spyro deduced she was talking about Sunburn. "How do you know he's not here?" He asked, the idea of Vixen being capable of tracking him and his friends, terrifying him deeply.

"Not important," Vixen responded, waving Spyro's inquiry away dismissively. "What is important is _this_ -" She entonated, stretching out her arms toward Spyro. "This conversation we're about to have." She said.

"A conversation?" Spyro asked, raising a brow and taking a sudden step back in utter confusion.

"Yes, a conversation," Vixen repeated calmly. "One I didn't think we were going to have… but one I promised you nonetheless…" She said ominously.

At that, Spyro gasped, his eyes went round as a memory flashed before his eyes. His first battle with Vixen, when she was about to kill him. _"I'm not the bad guy here,"_ Vixen's words echoed in his mind. _"I'm no more of a monster than you are,_ dragon."

After he began to piece things together, Spyro decided he had to play along to whatever game Vixen was playing. He already knew he was trapped in the room with her, and the fox-like dragon slayer had defeating him and all his friends nigh-effortlessly before. Besides, a small part of him was curious, curious to know just what had happened to Vixen that had sent her down such a twisted path.

"Alright, Vixen…" Spyro began, his voice still shaky from the dragon slayer's cold presence. "Let's talk…"

* * *

Cyrus walked down a long path lined with empty spaces for future stores, glancing from side to side, searching for something that would signal the architect's presence.

"How long has it been?" A voice asked behind him, sounding a bit frustrated.

"I'm not sure. Probably a few minutes by now." Cyrus replied to Whirlwind's question honestly.

He and Whirlwind had been patrolling the middle section of the building, along with Bash and Drobot. The two duos decided to split up to cover more ground, but even so, the mall was huge and they were far from done searching.

The air around them was a bit heavy. The mall was quiet as a grave and the dusty, unfinished state of construction made the place seem a bit eerie. Cyrus didn't mind much though, he found the silence pleasant as he walked. However, as his gaze wandered over to the cyan dragoness walking beside him, he noticed her eyes were drooped and her body looked tense.

Cyrus wasn't entirely against small talk. Sure, he found meaningless noise irritating most of the time, but he was aware that for certain people, it was a way to ease tension, and seeing how things were now, with several dragon-hating psychopaths running amok, he concluded that now was as good a time as any.

However, as the indigo dragon tried gathering his wits to speak, he realized something. He had virtually no practice doing small talk and he was also aware of his conflicting standing with Whirlwind. But apparently, his body was faster than his mind, because he was already speaking.

"So… uhh-" Cyrus began, clearing his throat harshly and stumbling over his words slightly. "What have you been up to?" He asked, putting physical effort into sounding casual.

Whirlwind was evidently surprised by this. Her ears jumped up and she stammered slightly, almost as if she wasn't expecting Cyrus to start a conversation. "Oh! Uhhh, you know, nothing much," She began, speaking quickly. "Just, fighting crazy dragon slayers… how about you?" She asked back, deflecting awkwardly.

"Well, same actually… lots of dragon slayer fighting." Cyrus responded with a dry chuckle.

A humiliating silence then hung over both dragons as the conversation dropped dead there and then. Both of them then turned their heads away and tried to disimulate, with Cyrus slamming his eyes shut with one of his paws. Through the gaps between his fingers and out of the corner of his eye, Cyrus could see Whirlwind hiding her face behind one of her wings, clearly embarrassed.

Cyrus felt an unfamiliar sensation, welling up in his cheeks, a heat that clouded his mind and took him out of focus. Was he… embarrassed? Flustered? That was quite rare for him. Not new, he had felt this was before, coincidentally, also when Whirlwind was around.

"C-Cyrus?" Whirlwind spoke, sounding hesitant.

The indigo dragon was a little surprised Whirlwind was calling to him, pushing through the awkwardness. So, he turned over to look at her, composing himself a bit. "Yes?" He asked, trying to sound encouraging.

"I… I just wanted you to know…" She continued, looking down for a moment. "I'm really glad you came with us." She said, lifting her head to look at Cyrus a small, warm smile on her face. "I know you've been having trouble… _adjusting_ ," She entonated, glancing away. "But, so have I to be honest, so… what I'm trying to say is…" She slowed down, taking a small breath.

"I'm glad you're here." She admitted, locking eyes with Cyrus.

Cyrus gasped as he heard those words, he looked at Whirlwind in awe. He stammered for a moment, his voice refusing to come out properly. He wanted to say something, anything to let her know he was grateful. However, the strange heat in his cheeks had gotten worse, and he was incapable of focusing, especially since Whirlwind was smiling up at him, giggling at his antics.

The indigo dragon was captivated, he composed himself a bit, if only to get a better look at Whirlwind's smile. She had a pretty smile. Whirlwind then raised a paw slowly, reaching out to Cyrus.

At that moment, Cyrus' body suddenly reacted. His skin crawled and his forehead started to itch. The indigo dragon took a step away from Whirlwind, tensing up defensively. The peculiar, yet endearing heat in his body disappeared… replaced by the phantoms of tiny needles.

" _No, no, no…"_ His mind started racing as the itch over his eye worsened to the point where he couldn't hold his paw from scratching at it. _"This isn't right, you haven't made up for what you've done yet,"_ The voice in his head hissed as he lifted his head and looked at Whirlwind. _"You don't deserve her…"_ He told himself, beating himself for being so stupid.

As he laid eyes on Whirlwind, he felt the itch worsen and spread. She was looking at him with a taken back expression which quickly turned into… sadness? The cyan dragoness lowered her paw slowly and looked away, silent, her ears pressed against her head.

Cyrus felt like he hated himself. He had made Spyro promise not to allow harm to come to these dragons, he had made the same promise himself, yet here he was, hurting Whirlwind.

The only consolation, the only argument he could make his mind come up with for having done this, was that he knew he would hate himself even more if he let himself convince Whirlwind that he was a good person… he wasn't, he knew that… he had just tricked her into believing otherwise.

He felt like he should at least apologise, be civil and keep his manners, like he had been taught to.

But before Cyrus could so much as say a word, a thunderous boom echoed through the empty halls of the mall. Cyrus heard the diminishing sounds of a brief yet intense battle and his thoughts immediately shifted gears.

"That came from the upper floors," Whirlwind stated, her ears on point and shifting. "That's where Spyro and Cynder are!" She said with grim realization.

Cyrus' heart dropped when he understood what was happening, he noticed the air around him had gotten strangely colder out of a sudden. "They need our help." He declared. "We need to get up there!" He almost shouted, taking flight and heading upwards.

"If we heard that, Bash and Drobot must have heard it too," Whirlwind's voice reassured. "They can probably call Camo and Zap up to help." She said.

Cyrus was slightly comforted by that, he knew there was a definite advantage in numbers. It was just the fact that he had no idea how many of their enemies were here that put him on edge, because he knew from experience that just one of them was going to be a handful.

It took only a few seconds for Cyrus to touch down on the second floor and he was followed shortly by Whirlwind, who landed behind him.

The two dragons scanned their new surroundings. The top floor was rather similar to the first, except that the roof was much further down, giving them less room to maneuver. The long hallways of empty spaces for future stores continued even up here, opposed by flimsy railing.

"Where are you?" Cyrus asked the wind as he silently decided in which direction to go.

"Cyrus! Whirlwind!" A slightly synthesized voice shouted, causing Cyrus to turn around.

"Drobot!" Whirlwind called the name of the dragon flying over to them.

The coppery dragon looked distressed and was breathing hard as he landed in front of the other two dragons to catch his breath. "Guys, I know where Spyro and Cynder are!" Drobot stated, not wasting time.

"What? How?" Whirlwind asked, surprised.

"That's not important now!" Drobot replied with slight frustration.

Cyrus simply guessed the coppery dragon had some sort of techno-gadget that could let him track their companions. So, he decided to ask a more important question. "Where are they?" Cyrus asked pressingly, taking a step forward toward Drobot.

"Follow me, quickly!" Drobot replied, taking flight once again and turning around, zooming down an ally, cueing Cyrus and Whirlwind to follow.

The three dragons moved through the upper floor for a while, turning and going down alleys, searching for their companions in the maze-like mall. As the he two dragons followed their friend, Cyrus noticed that Bash was nowhere to be found, a concerning detail. "Drobot, where is Bash?" He asked as the coppery dragon kept flying.

"He went to warn Zap and Camo," Drobot explained. "We'll need quite a bit of help for this..:" The dragon added under his breath.

Cyrus was about to ask what Drobot what he meant by his concerning words, but he was cut off by Whirlwind screaming a warning. "Watch out!" She cried.

Cyrus then looked ahead, and in a split second reaction, he used his wings to boost himself downward to the floor, narrowly avoiding a wave of purple energy which was aimed square at his face.

Cyrus then lifted his head and laid eyes on the one who had attacked him. He narrowed his eyes and shot a venomous glare at the two figures that were standing in his way. A tall, slender cyclop wearing armor and wielding a purple, crystalline falchion and a hunchback, marron imp wearing a dragon's skull as a mask and holding rusty metal pliers in one of his clawed hands.

" _Hallo kleine echsen!_ " Krall waved excitedly speaking in his strange language. "You can't come this way." He added, fixating his glowing yellow eye on Cyrus, matching the cold and hate in the indigo dragon's stare.

As the two held their gazes, Cyrus felt the now familiar sensation of cold that accompanied these monsters wash over him. It took everything he had to stop himself from shivering, but his everything was enough, he wasn't letting this creep scare him.

"What did you do to Spyro?" Cyrus asked, keeping a dangerously calm tone, stareing down the dragon slayer in front of him.

"Me?" Krall asked with mock-offence, gesturing at himself. "I didn't do anything to him! He's actually having a little chat with Vixen!" The imp stated. "They are talking things out peacefully, so there is no need for any of us to bother them." He explained calmly.

"What do you mean they're just talking?" Whirlwind demanded, her and Drobot taking positions at Cyrus' side.

"Exactly what I said silly _eidechse-pferd_ " Krall answered dismissively, getting a frustrated growl out of Whirlwind.

"Listen you gremlin," Cyrus growled at the dragon slayer. "You made a mistake thinking you can split us up like this. It's gonna take more than your parlor tricks and Toothpicks, over here-" He said, gesturing at Unulus, who frowned dangerously at the indigo dragon. "-To stop us. Now let me see my brother, or you'll be spending the next hundred years putting your little hat back together." He threatened.

Krall let out a dry wheeze at those words. "You think you're the first edgy dragon I've fought, lizard?" He asked mockingly, practically unfazed by Cyrus' threats. "Remember, I've been killing your filthy kind for longer than you've been growing your eye bags!" He snapped, pointing at Cyrus.

Cyrus simply narrowed his eyes and focused. He felt the time for chit chat was coming to a close soon.

"And you, Unulus?" Drobot suddenly called out to the cyclop. "What are you doing here?"

Unulus, who had been quiet until that point, narrowed his eye at Drobot. "I am here to make sure everything goes as it should," He explained vaguely. "The mission these people are on, is one I want to see fulfilled… and one that should have been fulfilled a long, _long_ time ago." He said, raising his falchion and straightening his posture, getting ready for the inevitable fight.

Krall meanwhile, bent over for a moment and let out a series of strained grunts as the two lumps of flesh on his back began writhing and churning, stretching out into the imp's second pair of arms. Now, all three of Krall's free hands picked a strange trinket out of the maroon imp's magic satchel and held it at the ready.

Cyrus kept his eyes on Krall, clearly the more dangerous of the two enemies in front of him, ready to spring forward and bite his throat out is he made a move. His companions were equally as tense, both of them, perfectly still and with eyes wide, their wings extended and their heads low to the ground.

But then, out of nowhere, Cyrus heard something, the sound of wings and running in the distance. When he noticed Krall and Unulus glance behind him and his friends, Cyrus was tempted to look behind him as well.

But he didn't have to. Instead he smirked, keeping his eyes forward. He knew what was coming. "Took you long enough." He quipped at the newly arrived dragons.

"What do you mean?" Zap asked with a smirk. "By the looks of it, we got here just in time!" The blue dragon said confidently.

"Alright!" Camo's squeaky voice shouted from behind Cyrus. "Where did you psychos put my friends!?"

* * *

"Well? Start talking!" Spyro snapped at Vixen.

A light tremor was spreading through the purple dragon's whole body just from the anticipation of having such a terrifying enemy so close to him. And yet, Vixen had made no moves to hurt him, in fact she looked quite relaxed, with her arms crossed over her chest and giving Spyro a calm, almost expectant look as she stood in front of Marvin, who was still tied to his chair. Did she really want to talk?

The pale dragon slayer drew breath and sighed before speaking up. "What do you want to know?" She asked simply.

The question made Spyro rack his mind. There were roughly a hundred questions he wanted to ask Vixen, but there was a clear priority he had to know of. "Why are you doing this?" He asked, trying to match the dragon slayer's composure. "All of this, hurting my friends, wanting to kill us?" He added, gritting his teeth. "What did we ever _do_ to you?" He demanded, straining himself to avoid screaming the question at Vixen.

The dragon slayer stayed silent for a moment, looking at Spyro. Before long however, she spoke. "If you want to know the answer to that," She began. "I would have to take you over a hundred years back in time," She said. "To a time where the things you think know, weren't really true."

"What does that mean?" Spyro asked, confused. He was aware that Vixen was well over a hundred years old, did she know something he didn't?

"Tell me," Vixen picked up. "What did Eon tell you about me?" She asked, her lips curling up into a miniature, held back smile. "About my friends, our little Coven?"

Spyro furrowed his brow as the memories of Master Eon's words came back to him. "He told me you were a bunch of psychos, who got together and started killing dragons for the hell of it," He growled.

"Well then, I shouldn't be surprised," Vixen began, looking down and shaking her head slowly. "He _is_ the _Blue Liar_ after all…" She said with a low sigh.

"The Blue… Liar?" Spyro pronounced, the implications on the title given to his master stirred uncertainty in him.

"You've lived with him, haven't you?" She asked suddenly. "He's lied to you hasn't he? About really big things? Things that he felt he should keep from you just because he was your superior?"

Spyro's mind then flashed images and sounds through his head, unwillingly forcing him to remember the time Master Eon had neglected to tell him the truth about his ancestors.

" _He was also pretty quiet about being Big-Head's dad, remember?"_ Dark Spyro's voice suddenly resonated within his mind, resurrecting his throbbing headache and adding another point against Master Eon. _"I mean, I can't really blame him for that one. I wouldn't want anyone to know I fathered a gremlin like Kaos either."_ The dark doppelganger added with sarcastic empathy.

Spyro slapped the side of his head. _"Shut up!"_ He almost barked at the voice inside his head.

"Well?" Vixen insited, reminding Spyro she couldn't read his mind.

"Yeah, he has," Spyro admitted, begrudgingly. "But what does that have to do with this? So far, everything he's told me about you has been true." He added firmly, sticking up for his teacher.

"That's because he _hasn't_ told you everything." Vixen replied, the smirk in her face growing ever so slightly. "A real liar doesn't just wrap the truth, they pick the parts that suit their story and work with them," She said. "The best liars take the parts of the truth they know you want to hear, and build their lies on top of them."

"Oh, is that supposed to be a cool villain quote?" Spyro asked derisively, his voice drenched in spite. "Who came up with that one, huh?"

"Well," Vixen paused for a moment, taking a hand to her chin and looking to the side. "I do believe it was Eon."

Spyro gasped at that, his eyes went round for a moment. He wanted to argue, but Vixen was already speaking.

"I'll be honest," She spoke up. "We did have an absolute _blast_ slaughtering you scaly rats," She admitted with a nostalgic chuckle, sending a flare of anger though Spyro. "But that wasn't the only reason we were doing it. And also? Do you really think twenty people are just going to randomly get together and fight one of the most ancient and powerful races in the Skylands? No, I don't think so. We needed a _leader_." She said, entonating the last word, now grinning at Spyro.

The purple dragon wasn't a fool. He knew what Vixen was insinuating and he didn't plan on letting her feed him such lies. "Master Eon would never lead people like you!" He yelled, losing his composure.

"Oh but he would," Vixen retorted, speaking loudly to cut Spyro off. "He and his little brother Strykore, and Kaossandra too. They were our leaders, our Masters, just as they are now to you Skylanders." She chuckled, taking a moment to savor the conflicted look on Spyro's face. "And it makes sense too! All those three ever wanted, and what… _most_ of them still want-" Apparently aware of Strykore's fall to evil. "-Was to keep the Skylands safe!"

"Well then, that's where your story falls on its face!" Spyro snapped, finally regaining a bit of hope and certainty in his standing. "There was nothing to protect the Skylands from back then, other than you! You were stopped by the purple dragons, the guardians of the Core of Light!" He stated, pride seeping into his voice as he retold the feats of his ancestors.

"Hah!" Vixen laughed suddenly. "Is that what he told you? Lizard, the purple dragons came to the Skylands _years_ after the Coven was formed!" She stated with a chuckle. "No one had even heard of purple dragons before they showed up and started messing everything up. But before they did, Eon and the dragon slayers were already cleansing the Skylands of dragons."

"W-What?" Spyro stammered, taken back by Vixen's retort.

"And _there was_ something to protect the Skylands from," Vixen added, her fanged grin now receding as she spoke. "You know, you really _must have_ been adopted by that old fool, you're making the same dumb mistake as he did." She added, chuckleing to herself. "You think that just because the purple dragons dropped by one day and decided to act all righteous, it immediately means all other dragons were good all along."

Spyro couldn't find his voice. What Vixen was telling him, it made his mind spin like a carousel.

"Well let me tell you something, little lizard," Vixen continued, taking a hand over to the side of her face that was covered by her pale blonde hair. "Dragons are not heroes-" She began, lifting her greasy hair off her face and revealing what was hidden underneath. "-They are animals."

When Spyro laid eyes on Vixen's now revealed right eye, he felt a primal sensation of fear well up inside him, which made his body react. He felt his stomach immediately churn and his throat clog. The purple dragon wretched, lowering his head and then threw up, the horrible taste filling his mouth and making his throat sore. Debilitated by his body's reflex, Spyro was shaking, the cold Vixen's presence was irradiating more brutal than he ever remembered.

Since the image of it was seared into Spyro's mind, he was able to picture every detail, something that made him whimper and shut his eyes close.

What he had seen was a hideous, deformed, rotting patch of black flesh, the same shade of black that Spyro had seen in other wounds the dragon slayers had sustained. He could see little warts and fissures of gut-wrenching gore, dotting the dark wound. He assumed the disfiguring injury was a slash of some kind, and from the brutality of it, Spyro would have assumed anyone would have died from an attack like that.

"I was killed by a dragon," She said, speaking in a somber tone. "My _whole family_. Was killed. By _dragons_." She hissed slowly, taking a step toward Spyro, finally letting her hair fall back down and cover her grievous scar.

"And I was so angry," She continued. "Because for a fleeting moment, I actually decided to trust your kind. And _this_ is how I was thanked." She said, stretching out her arms, gesturing at herself. "By getting stabbed in the back… _or no, actually, by getting stabbed in the front."_ She corrected herself in a mumble.

"But I feel like I'm making this too much about me," Vixen spoke up again. "It's not like I was the only one who got their lives destroyed by dragons. Oh no, you lizards sure know how to split the suffering evenly." She spat venomously. "Hundreds of families lived in fear for years, with nothing or no one to protect them from the winged monsters that preyed on them." She narrated. "Hundreds of stories just like mine, just like Krall's or Tarrare's."

"The people had their homes burned down, their food and cattle stolen, their loved ones eaten alive, for _years._ " She entonated. "So, Eon and his little family of wizards, called upon me and my soon-to-be brothers-in-arms, to defend the realm from the fire-breathing demons." She explained.

Spyro was shell shocked by all the information he was getting. He was starting to hyperventilate, his weakened body made standing difficult, and he could only make himself whisper. "N-No… you're lying."

" _Come on man,"_ Dark Spyro began smugly. _"I think we both can tell she's not the lying type."_ He chidded.

"I'm not lying," Vixen countered pointedly. "Ask your little headmaster in the Afterlife," She added with a spiteful chuckle. "I'm sure he'll be in a _confessing_ mood by then."

At that, Spyro felt his heart sink. "Did you… did you kill-"

"Let's not get off topic now," Vixen cut him off, her fanged grin returning to her features as she spoke. "I still have one more little secret to tell you," She declared, almost proudly.

"No… Stop!" Spyro cried. "I've had enough of this, I don't want to listen to you anymore!" He shouted, covering his ears and lowering his head.

"Now I've heard your kind are supposed to be these great, stalwart saviours," Vixen continued, not bothering to heed Spyro's words. "But what of I told you, they were just a bunch of opportunists?" She asked tauntingly.

"The only reason they decided to stop me and my friends, was because they saw that Eon was starting to break." She explained, anger manifesting in her voice as she growled Eon's name. "Me and most of the other slayers thought he was just having a bad steak, a moment of weakness he could overcome, but it fact, he was starting to get all touchy-feely about the whole dragon-slaying thing." She explained, her loathing of the portal master now clearly palpable in her voice. "He lost his drive and his spine, while we didn't. So instead of owning up to what he had done, he took his chance, as your ancestors did theirs."

"That's not true!" Spyro shouted back, anger and frustration bubbling up in his heart as he heard his kind be insulted, the new feelings mixing with the fear and despair that was washing over him. "The purple dragons were heroes!"

"They made a deal with Eon, to wipe me and my friends off the Skylands, so they would all be _remembered_ as the heroes that saved the dragons from the evil, killer draugr," She corrected, putting her hands together for mocking dramatic effect. "And then, it just so happens that me and my friends had actually managed to kill such a big bunch of dragons that the rest were too weak to do anything about this sudden, negotiated truce, because all it took was Eon, Kaossandra, Strykore and a few of the purple dragon elders pulling a huge memory altering spell on people's minds to wrap the whole thing up." She stated. _"I suppose that is quite impressive now that I say it outloud."_ She added in a mutter.

" _Oh, man!"_ Dark Spyro began suddenly, his voice making Spyro's ears ring. _"That has to suck for you dude, too bad I don't really care about other people, so I can't say I relate"_ He said in a mock-comforting tone.

"Shut up!" Spyro roared out loud, at both of his tormentors, tears welling up in his eyes, his heart actually aching from the strain of emotion he was feeling. The rage that was brewing within him was reaching it's brim and the purple dragon could almost feel himself reach his limit.

"That's right little dragon," Vixen called in a sinister tone. "Everything you stand for, everything you precious Master told you, is a lie. You're kind are not great heroes, they are just good actors, and-"

Spyro let out a roar of anger. He felt his body react out of hurt of every single word Vixen had said to him, every one of the revered images he had of his idols she had shattered. And with this roar, Spyro shot out a bolt of fire, aimed at Vixen, meant to burn her cursed being off the Skylands.

However, the dragon slayer was fast and her reaction right on time, almost as if she was expecting it. Vixen angled her body, which made the fireball zoom right past her, leaving her unharmed.

That's not to say the flaming projectile didn't hit anything. There was the sound of fire crashing against flesh, followed by a dull thud that echoed through the room.

This made Spyro regain his bearings somewhat. He lifted his head and looked over to where he had fired his projectile. There, he saw Marvin's chair, tipped over backwards with the architect still tied to it. The mabu wasn't moving, and lines of smoke were emerging from his body.

" _Okay,"_ Dark Spyro picked up slowly. _"I would just like to make sure we're on the same page here._ That-" He entonated, mentally pointing at Marvin. _"Wasn't me."_ He declared.

Spyro started wordlessly at the fallen mabu, a dreadful realization piecing itself together in his mind.

"Well," Vixen spoke up suddenly, sounding untroubled by what had happened. "I do think that, _this_ -" She gestured at the still motionless mabu. "The cyclop's story-" She added. "And this finishing touch of mine-" She paused as she pulled our something hidden under her cape, a black book, with a red ten-point star on its cover. "-Should do the trick." She finished as she opened the book and began reading from it, chanting ominously.

As the dragon slayer did this, Spyro felt something go wrong. He felt like someone had shoved their hand into his chest and was trying to pull his soul out. His dark twin spoke. _"Oh… oh boy I know what's going on!"_ He said with glee.

Vixen's chanting continued, and Spro felt another, much more violent pull. It caused the heavy pressure in Spyro's chest to increase and his knees to buckle, dropping him to the floor.

Dark Spyro was laughing at this point. _"Oh hell yes! What did I tell you!? What did I tell you!?"_ He questioned boasting. _"I told you I was going to break free! And here we are!"_ He said, letting out a cruel laugh that echoed through Spyro's head.

Spyro could barely hear his dark double's laugh though. He felt weak and his body was heavy. He could feel his eyes closing slowly, his strained mind too weak to fight for consciousness.

Just as Spyro's eyes closed, he was able to get one last glimpse at the world around him, more specifically at his paws, at his scales.

He saw his scales turn black.

* * *

"Argh! you suck at this!" Krall screamed at Unulus. "What are you? A filler villain!?" He demanded angrily.

"There are _six_ of them!" Unulus barked back, just as enraged. "We're outnumbered! What did you expect!?"

The two villains bickering was a good sign for Cyrus. He and his companions were getting to them.

Since the start of their fight, the two villains had been on a steady retreat, losing ground and taking damage. The fight had been pushed back to a closed, narrow ally the which had a large door at the end of it. Cyrus and his companions kept pushing their enemies, the more weary of this door they became, making Cyrus guess that his brother was behind that same door.

Krall was doing most of the work on his team, throwing his many trinkets and items and forcing the dragons to keep their distance and remain weary of his bag of tricks. Unulus was mostly covering Krall, using his sword to keep anyone from getting into close quarters, which was Krall's most evident weakness. However, the cyclop would occasionally fire a wave of purple energy from his falchion, putting additional ranged pressure on the dragons.

The team of dragons had the offensive, but Cyrus knew they couldn't let up, especially since they were obviously pushing the villains to their breaking point.

"Well forget this!" Krall yelled. "We need you in one piece anyways." He grumbled as he picked something out of his pouch, a small, grey marble. "I'll call you through our magic communication bricks when things get in order." He said, leaving Cyrus confused as to what he meant by _magic communication brick._

"What's that mean?" Unulus asked with a dry, humorless chuckle. "That you're going to take on all six of them by your-"

The gangly cyclop was cut off when Krall threw the grey marble at his face, which caused the little thing to break and release a small cloud of smoke that quickly enveloped Unulus. When the cloud soon dispersed, the cyclop chieftain was nowhere to bee seen.

"Where'd he go?" Camo asked, surprised by their enemy's sudden disappearance.

" _Unwichtig, Weinkraut!"_ Krall answered loudly, turning to face the many dragons before him. "What _is_ important, is that now, I don't have any restrictions partner-wise," He entonated happily. "So now, I don't have to hold back anymore!" He declared with a sinister chuckle.

"Ha! You really think you can beat all of us yourself?" Zap asked with a defiant smirk as he stepped towards Krall. "You're not so scary when you're all alone little imp!"

"Ohhhh, we'll see about that wet lizard," Krall said ominously. "We'll see about that…" He repeated, fixing his unflinching eye on Zap, slightly lowering the blue dragon's confidence.

"Everyone?" Cyrus called, stretching his wings defensively and taking a few steps back. "Keep your distance, he's up to something." He warned, noticing Krall digging for something in his black pouch.

"I don't intend on giving him time to do what he's planning." Bash declared sternly, making Cyrus' stomach drop as the brown dragon suddenly charged for the four-armed imp.

"Bash no, wait!" The indigo dragon cried, not disading his friend, even as Krall pulled his hands out of his pouch, revealing his next attack.

" _Überraschung!"_ Krall shouted with morbid glee as he threw two clouds of blood red dust in the air in front of him, creating a crimson smoke screen that quickly shrouded the imp.

And made Cyrus' eyes go round with dreadful remembrance. "Bash! Don't breathe in that smoke!" He warned, his memories of the noxious substance's effects all too clear in his mind.

But it was too late. Bash must have heart Cyrus' warning because the dragon began breaking his charge early, however, he was close enough that a puff of crimson dust floated off the main smoke screen and dispersed over his face.

At that, Bash let out a horrible, choked coughing fit as he backed away from the red smoke. Cyrus could see tiny rashes appearing on his face and his eyes become watery and red.

"Bash!" Camo called in a worried tone as he saw his friend's condition.

However, Camo soon had cause to worry about himself, when out of a sudden, Cyrus saw the blur of a small yellow object flew out of the wall of smoke, aimed at Camo's chest.

The indigo dragon was incapable of warning his green friend in time due to the projectile's speed. He only managed to see it hit Camo in the chest. when the projectile hit its mark, the sound of electrical buzzing rung abruptly followed by a small flash of yellow sparks and soon after, a cry of pain from Camo as he fell to the ground.

"Camo!" Zap cried at he sight of his fallen friend.

"I'm… alright…" Camo said weakly as he slowly got on his feet. "That just really hurt." He said, rubbing his chest and wincing.

Cyrus felt a small drop of sweat trail down his temple. In the short time Krall had been left alone, Bash and Camo had already been damaged. Perhaps the dragon slayer really was holding himself back.

"We cannot let him push us back!" Drobot stepped in, looking toward the wall of crimson smoke. "I say we hit him together, even if we can't see him we can't all miss!"

"Yeah!" Whirlwind agreed energetically. "Let's do it!"

Cyrus was hesitant. His flames couldn't let him fire at random. He needed to make sure every attack counted. "You guys hit him," He began, keeping his eyes on the wall of smoke. "I'll finish him once I get a clean shot." He added.

"Alright then." Drobot agreed with an understanding nod.

Shortly after this, Cyrus saw Camo, Whirlwind, Zap and Drobot line up and ready up. Bash being a solely melee fighter assume a defensive stance behind them, standing beside dragons each charged their own attacks before they then released them in unison.

A barrage of lightning, tiny rainbows, orange lasers and explosive yellow orbs shot towards the wall of smoke. There was then a quick burst of explosive sounds as the attacks hit their marks, creating a small echoing rumble through the hallway.

A heavy silence followed. Cyrus narrowed his eyes, staying perfectly still and with his guard up. He noticed the red clouds Krall had cast had still not dissipated.

"Did we hit him?" Zap asked warily, relaxing his pose slightly.

"I don't know." Drobot responded. "I can't really see through the-"

The coppery green dragon was cut off, when a yellow marble struck his neck, sending sparks and static buzzing through the air and knocking him down.

"What the?" Zap asked, his eyes round form surprise.

However, the blue dragon was cut off when he let out a short yet pained grunt when another marble shot out form the red smoke curtains and hit him in the forehead.

Then, a new sound filled the air, a croaky laughter that sounded dry and dark. Cyrus could feel the cold around him worsen as the laughter grew louder. And then, before anyone could react, just as the slow chuckles broke out into a roaring laugh, a barrage of yellow marbles began shooting out of the red mist.

"Watch out!" Cyrus shouted as he ducked out of the way of a marble aimed to hit him in between the eyes.

His companions however, didn't have his reflexes. They shifted and scrambled as the yellow pellets began hitting them, sending painful discharges of pain through their bodies. There was no cover in the empty hallway, and so, the dragons couldn't effectively dodge their enemy's attacks. Brief, breathless cries of agony choked out of the many dragons when Krall's projectiles struck them. The shocks made their muscles spasm and caused them to lose their balance even as more projectiles kept hitting them, worsening their pain.

Bash was the first to respond to the situation, much to Cyrus' surprise. The brown dragon charged past his companions, straight for Krall's smoke wall. But rather than attacking the dragon slayer, Bash positioned himself between his friends and Krall's attacks, using his body as a shield. He had his eyes closed tightly and his jaw clenched from the pain and strain.

"Bash? What are you doing!?" Cyrus asked, baffled at the sight of his friend grinning and bearing the many projectiles that were now hitting his flank.

"You need to hit him!" Bash stated through his teeth. "You have the most firepower out of all us; you can finish him!" He growled, his body starting to shake.

"I have to get a clear shot," Cyrus argued, cursing his dreadful flames in his mind. "If I miss, I'll-"

"I can get you a shot." A voice declared. Cyrus lowered his gaze, surprised to see Whirlwind, getting on her feet, her eyes filled with determination. "I just need you to buy me a few seconds." She stated.

Cyrus looked at her for a moment, a fleeting second. He then gave her a firm nod and backed away, giving her space.

At this, Whirlwind turned to face Krall's wall of red smoke and then closed her eyes, focusing. She then raised her wings and puffed out her chest. Shortly after, the white horn on her forehead started glowing intensely. A low hum emanated from the glowing horn and then, magic filled the air.

A string wind started blowing through the hallway. It was actually so strong Cyrus had to change his stance and shift his weight to avoid being blown over by the sudden gale.

However, Cyrus couldn't help but smile as he saw the strong winds Whirlwind had created blow away Krall's gaseous barrier, causing it to dissipate and reveal what they were hiding.

Deprived of his cover, sat Krall, paralyzed mid-way through the motion of a throw, a hand full of yellow marbles in hand, his glowing yellow eye wide in shock. However, there was a detail. surrounding the maroon imp, was a magic bubble of pinkish energy, a shield of some kind being projected by a tiny wooden totem at the dragon slayer's feet, Cyrus deduced, and the explanation for the dragon slayer remaining unharmed even with the initial volley of attacks his companions had thrown at him.

But it didn't matter, Cyrus grinned. "There you are." Cyrus whispered, a malevolent glint on his eyes as he took in breath.

The six gashes on his chest light up and a second after, the indigo dragon fired a bolt of green and black fire, aimed at the imp's chest.

Krall only managed to put his arms up in defence and let out a short scream of fright before Cyrus' projectile burned straight through the magic barrier, and hit the dragon slayer.

Krall was knocked back by the attack and stumbled off his feet, landing on his rump. Then, his barrier began to break down as the green embers form the hole Cyrus had burned into the shield, began eating away at the rest of its surface.

His throat hurt, but it didn't stop Cyrus from cracking a grin. The dragon slayer looked wounded. The pair arms he had used to defend himself, were burning up slowly, with tiny green flames eating away at his putrid black flesh on his forearms, making their way to his elbows.

Cyrus was about to feel content about the damage he had caused, but before he could, the dragon slayer started to move. The maroon imp took a tight hold near the base of his two burning arms using his unharmed ones and began to pull. Harder and harder the dragon slayer pulled until a wet crack echoed through the hallway.

Cyrus' eye twitched in disgust, but he stayed himself. His companions however, didn't have his stomach and had to hold back gags at the sight of Krall ripping his burning arms off.

The imp stayed still and in silence, his head hung low. Nobody made a move, the tension in the air escalating with every passing moment. Cyrus kept his eyes on the maroon imp, waiting for something to happen.

And then, Krall lifted his head and spoke. "Well!" He began in a loud and cheerful tone. "I think I bought her enough time." He stated as he began digging for something in his pouch.

Everyone got on guard at this, tensing up and getting into battle poses. Krall however, didn't seem to mind the dragons, or any of the damage that had been dealt to him as he drew a single grey marble from his pouch, identical to the one he had thrown at Unulus.

 _"Auf wiedersehen, echsen!"_ The dragon slayer said, waving at the dragons as he crushed the grey marble between his fingers, causing a familiar mist to envelop him. After the mist dispersed, Krall was nowhere to bee seen.

However, this did nothing to ease Cyrus. A shameless retreat like that only meant one thing. "This whole thing was a distraction." He whispered, gazing at the door at the end of the hallway, a horrible sensation crawling up his back.

Cyrus dashed forward, running to the door. He could hear his companions behind him, just as worried as him.

When Cyrus opened the door, and walked in, followed shortly by the others. The dusty room was crammed with stacks of construction materials of all kinds and was obstructed further by the beams that held up the roof. There was a large hole near one of the corners of the room.

"Spyro?" Camo called out suddenly, his tone laced with worry. "Where are you?"

"Spyro?" Drobot called out after him. "We're here? Can you hear us?" He asked.

The dragons slowly began splitting and dispersing through the room. Calling out for their friend, but no response came. Or at least not from the purple dragon.

"Guys?" A woman's voice reached Cyrus' ears, it's sound coming from the hole to his right. "Are you there?" The voice asked.

Cyrus recognized the one speaking and called their name. "Cynder?"

As the indigo dragon called her name, Cynder flew out of the hole and landed on the floor.

"Cynder!" Whirlwind called, a broad smile appearing on her face as she saw her friend. "You're okay!" She cheered.

"Where are Unulus and Krall?" The violet dragoness asked urgently. "Where is Spyro?" She added with more concern.

"We dealt with Krall and Unulus," Cyrus replied, his gaze lowering. "But we don't know where Spyro is." He admitted letting out a sigh. "He was with you-" He picked up, looking at Cynder. "-Do you know where he is?" He asked, his voice coming out a little more pressing than he intended.

"I-" Cynder began, her expression slowly darkening. "I don't know, Krall separated us, he trapped me down there-" She said, pointing to the hole in the floor. "-I didn't see what happened after that." She stated.

Cyrus furrowed his brow, and looked to the side. He was getting a really bad feeling about the situation. "Come on," He managed. "We have to look for him."

"Oh, don't worry Cyrus!" A strange voice filled the room. "You don't have to look for me, I'm right here!"

There was something about the voice, something off putting. It made Cyrus immediately start glancing around, searching the room for it's source.

"Spyro?" Camo asked out loud. "Is… is that you!?" He asked again, his voice cheerful, his tail wagging as he spoke.

"Well, kinda…" The voice answered vaguely. "You've definitely met me though!" The voice added. "I know you well, I know _every_ one of you." The voice said with a strangely disturbing friendliness.

The voice definitely sounded similar to Spyro's. But there was something wrong, out of place. The sound was colder, much less welcoming than Spyro's.

"Uh, what's that supposed to mean, Spyro?" Zap stepped in suddenly. "Of course we know each other, we're friends. You were training us to be Skylanders remember?" The blue dragon asked, a worried edge in his voice.

"Of course I remember Zap," The voice replied casually. "I remember everything that's been happening lately. Every moment I spent with you all… I hated every passing second of it."

"W-What?" Camo almost whispered as his tail suddenly stopped wagging. "Spyro, why would you say that?" He asked in a sad little voice.

"Something's wrong." Cyrus stated, narrowing his eyes and frowning.

"What do you mean?" Whirlwind asked, looking over to Cyrus with concern.

"That's not Spyro." The indigo dragon declared, a feeling of rage slowly starting to bubble within him.

"I had to sit there, in the dark, listening to you all be idiots, for days," The voice narrated, still out of sight and now speaking slightly louder, yet trying to keep an easy-going tone. "You have no idea how many times I just wanted to reach out and just… pull your teeth out!" He admitted, adding a short, twisted chuckle.

"But I never could, I had to sit there, alone in the dark, watching while the purple idiot did whatever stupid thing you had all come up with doing." The voice continued, his voice now dripping with bitterness, feeling even closer. "Well! Not anymore! I'm here now!" The voice stated, almost triumphantly.

"That purple runt made me miserable for so long I can't even remember when it started," The voice continued, sounding even closer than before, yet Cyrus was still unable to see where it was coming from. "So, now that I have this rare chance to do something I want to do, I'm going to do something I've been wanting to do, for a _reaaaally_ long time."

At that, Cyrus finally laid eyes on the creature speaking. He saw them walk past one of the piles of materials, revealing themselves.

It was Spyro, or a twisted reflection of him. The dragon's body and face were identical to Spyro's. He had the same horns, the same wings, the same eyes. But, looking closer, Cyrus could notice tells, little details that gave away the fact that this wasn't his brother at all.

Everyone tensed up at the sight of the creepy dragon, his very presence usettleing. The many dragons slowly got closer together, with Bash, Cynder actually getting into more battle-ready positions, clearly aware that something was very wrong with this dragon.

"And what would that be?" Cyrus asked boldy, taking a step toward this _Dark_ Spyro.

The sinister reflection didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned his head toward Cyrus, focusing on him. Then, Dark Spyro spoke. "I want to make him miserable, as miserable as he made me," He declared, his voice smeared with venom. "And to do that… well, I'm going to have to hurt you-" He explained, shifting his gaze from Cyrus to all the dragons "-Which in itself, is bound to be _therapeutic_ for me. Have I mentioned how much I _hate_ you all?" He asked casually, his voice shaking a little.

"We don't have time for you," Cynder spoke up suddenly, taking a step forward, standing at Cyrus' side. A particularly angry expression on her face as she glared at Dark Spyro "You better bring Spyro back and go back to whatever hole you crawled out of or you'll be sorry."

Dark Spyro laughed at the violet dragoness' threat. "Oh yeah, I can see why he likes you. You're feisty!" He stated with a smirk. "I'll admit… that's kind of hot." He added with a disgusting lick of his lips.

That must have set something off inside of Cynder, because at that moment, she dashed forward, boosting herself with her wings and released a chain of lightning at Dark Spyro.

The evil doppelganger was caught by surprise and got knocked back by the attack as it connected with his chest, sending blue sparks outwards while the dark dragon tumbled off his feet.

"Urgh, geez that was a compliment," Dark Spyro hissed as he got up. "I thought that whole lovey-dovey stuff was reciprocal, you do know that if you kill me in this body you also kill him, right?" He asked as he rubbed his pained chest.

"Spyro has impenetrable scales," Cynder began calmly. "I'm pretty sure you can take it, am I right mirror boy?" She asked with sarcastic smirk which caused Dark Spyro's face to to snarl

"Wow," Zap whispered. "She's pretty cool."

"She kicked our buts remember?" Bash reminded his friend.

Cyrus chuckled briefly at the exchange. However, he was quickly forced to compose himself as he saw Dark Spyro get into battle pose, stretching his wings and lowering his body.

"Alright, no more playing around," The dark dragon declared. "You pissed me off." He growled dangerously.

After this, Dark Spyro lunged forward, sharp silver claws aimed at slashing Cynder's neck open. However, the violet dragoness reacted in time, becoming a dark, misty outline of herself. Because of this, Dark Spyro jumped through her without dealing any damage, an outcome which made the dark dragon let out a frustrated growl.

However, Dark Spyro had little time to be annoyed, since he found himself being surprised rather quickly when he found Cyrus slashing his face with his own claws.

Cyrus had cast his magic, making his paws glow red and syphon energy off Dark Spyro as they scraped against his scales, sending a small dose of relief to Cyrus' sore throat as well as disorienting Dark Spyro enough to make him fall roughly on the ground.

After this, Cyrus expected Dark Spyro to try retaliating against him, but to his surprise, the doppelganger shifted his attention to a diferent target. He fired a ball of dark purple flames at none other than Camo. Cyrus was certain the projectile would hit the little green dragon, but to his delighted surprise, it didn't.

The flames were canceled out by a blast of yellow electricity which had come from Zap. The blue dragon defended his friend, something which mildly surprised Dark Spyro, as he failed to react in time when Bash rushed in, ramming his bulky frame onto the evil doppelganger and sending him sprawling back.

"You can't be stupid enough to think you can beat us all," Cyrus said, glaring at the dark dragon as he stood up. "Well actually, I take that back, you just might be." He quipped sarcastically.

However, something strange happened next. Dark Spyro let out a short laugh, he then laughed again, more wholeheartedly. "Oh, silly," Dark Spyro began. "I know I can't beat all of you, but that's not what I want. I said I wanted to make _him_ miserable, as _miserable_ as I possibly can" He entonated. "And lucky for me, that's pretty easy to do, I just need to kill some of you. Heck! With how sentimental he is, I could probably just kill _one_ of you and be done for the day!" He said, his deranged, furious despise for his mirror image, palpable in his voice and in his eyes.

With that, Cyrus grimace as he realized what this whole thing was. It was a suicide attack, a gesture of vengeance so petty it lacked any logical reason. It was just pure evil.

"But you're right," Dark Spyro picked up a sinister smile on his face as he composed himself. "I can't really do any damage by myself. So!" He paused for a moment and turned his head to someone else. "Mind helping me out, bud?" He asked maliciously.

Dark Spyro had turned to face Drobot, who took a step back at the confrontation. And then, before the coppey dragon could protest, Dark Spyro furrowed his brow and bright purple sparks began sizzling through his horns, growling larger and more vibrant until they created a small ball of dark static between the black dragon's horns.

Then, a thin beam of this dark electricity shot out with incredible speed and hit Drobot right between the eyes, making him stumble off his feet as the sound of crackling electricity filed the air for a moment.

"Drobot! Are you alright!" Zap asked, dashing over to his friend's side.

"Y-Yes, I'm fine Zap," Drobot's synthesised voice answered, sounding a bit distorted. "I'm just a little dizzy." He stated.

However, when the coppery dragon raised his head, Cyrus felt his heart sink. The usual yellow light that shone out of Drobot's eyes was replaced by a pale purple color.

And then, without reaction form Drobot, the dragon's dual lasers shout out, hitting Zap square in the face.

"No! Zap!" Drobot shouted in horror when his friend fell backwards, knocked out by his own attack. "That wasn't me! What is happening!?" He asked, his voice shaky as he breath became uneven.

"Hehehe," Dark Spyro chuckled. "A little trick of mine, fun isn't it?" He said as he raised a paw at Drobot and then flicked it towards Whirlwind, who was standing to his left.

At that, Drobot fired his lasers again, this time aimed at Whirlwind. "Watch out!" He screamed as he tried stirring his head to avoid hitting his friend. This coupled with his warning made it so Whirlwind avoided the attack in time by flying out of the way.

"That's annoying," Dark Spyro grumbled at the result. "Well nerd, let's see what else you can do!" He laughed as he clenched his fist and caused Drobot to extend his wings against his will.

At this, a swarm of metallic gears, coated in a phantasmal purple glow, shot out of Drobot's wings and began homing in on the many dragons.

"Oh, cool!" Dark Spyro wowed as he saw the proyectiles fly. "I actually have something like that! Watch!"

Dark Spyro then drew a deep breath and held it in his chest for a moment. And then, the evil dragon spewed out a volley of purple flames that condensed into burning balls of dark fire. Then, the fiery proyectiles began homing in on the other dragons just like the proyectiles Drobot had fired beforehand. The two barrages of attacks combined into a miniature storm of chaos that sent everyone into a panic as they desperately tried avoiding the incoming attacks.

Cyrus began trying to dodge the proyectiles as the came, ducking and leaning out of the way. As he did, he noticed everyone else was trying to do the same, but, despite their efforts, all of Cyrus' companions were getting struck by gears and fireballs which left bruises and scorch marks on their bodies, a dreadful sight for Cyrus to behold.

But then, Cyrus was forced to snap back into the moment when he felt someone tackle him in a vicious headbutt. He felt his body be flung back at the impact, only to land roughly on the ground. The indigo dragon groaned as he got on his feet quickly and boosted himself upwards with his wings, narrowly avoiding another flaming headbutt from Dark Spyro.

"Hehehe, I think this is going quite well!" The evil reflection mused, turin around and gazing at the injuries he had inflicted on the many dragons and cracking a wide, joyous smile.

Cyrus grit his teeth. He wanted so bad to harm this vile alter-ego of his brother's. He wanted to let loose the fire in his chest, that burned with hateful passion towards the creature who was having such a blast harming those Cyrus and his brother were trying to protect. But he held himself back. He knew better than to strike his own brother with his cursed flames.

However, something else happened which added to Cyrus' resolve to not hurt the dark doppelganger. He saw the evil smile on his face vanish and his eyes go round. Then, Cyrus saw as Dark Spyro gripped the sides of his head, shut his eyes closed and let out a slowly escalating scream of pain.

When this happened, Cyrus noticed that the purple fire in the air was suddenly snuffed out. He also noticed that the purple light on Drobot's eyes reverted back to his signature yellow and that the coppery dragon crumpled to his knees, ceasing his involuntary attack.

"No!" The evil dragon roared. "I'm not done playing with your friends, Spyro!" He yelled, seemingly at himself.

"Shut up!" Dark Spyro shouted at himself, shaking his head. Cyrus could have sworn he heard the dragon's voice change, and the color of his scales flash into a diferent color for less than a second. "Leave them alone!" He shouted again.

That's when Cyrus understood that his brother was still in there, fighting back against his dark reflection. "Spyro!" He called his brother's name. "Fight him! You have to break free!" He pleaded.

"Argh!" Spyro's voice resonated through his dark reflections body. He let out an agonized shout as his body slowly began gaining its original color back. The black began fading into purple and the silver began turning into orange.

Cyrus was about to feel relieved, but then, he saw as Spyro used his wings to dash towards, the exit of the room in a blinding burst of speed.

"What!?" Cyrus nearly choked. "Spyro what are you-"

"Cyrus!" Cynder's voice shouted from behind him, making him turn around to face the dragoness. "Everyone is beaten up, we need to help them!" She said as she hurried over to Drobot's fallen body.

Cyrus couldn't believe he was in this situation again. He froze as his mind sent him flashes of what had happened long ago. He was in Maraino Castle, faced with the choice to help Cynder or save his brother.

Last time he had taken a moment to help Cynder before rushing to Spyro's aid, but this time, things were diferent. As he panned his head through the battletorn room, and saw the battered figures of his fellow dragons, Cyrus understood there were more people at stake this time, people he had sworn to protect.

 _"Besides, Spyro can take him,"_ Cyrus told himself in a vain attempt to make himself feel better. _"I know he can."_

And so, taking one last look at the door Spyro had rushed out of, Cyrus made his choice. He shut his eyes for a moment and turned around.

His friends needed him.

* * *

Spyro could feel his head splitting.

His breath was labored, his whole body ached as he pushed himself to fly, fly far away, where hs couldn't hurt them.

" _This is stupid,"_ Dark Spyro's voice sounded in his head. _"Give me my body back!"_ He shouted.

At that, Spyro felt his chest tighten and his lungs freeze. It made him lose his focus and plumet downwards, crashing harshly on the mall's floor. On the cold ground, Spyro could see his own arms sprawled before him. He noticed that they weren't his own arms, they were an oily black with just a few shimmering patches of faded purple here and there.

"It's not… your body!" Spyro shouted at his dark reflection as he got up on his feet and took flight again, his body gaining just a sliver of it's previous coloration. "I'm never letting you hurt my family again!" He declared.

" _Wait… family?"_ Dark Spyro repeated in a slow confused tone.

Spyro didn't pay him any mind. His thoughts were too scattered and too noisy for him to process any new input properly. Besides, he was focused on one thing; exiting the mall and leaving the area as quickly as he could.

The purple dragon navigated through the huge structure until he reached the main entrance he remembered arriving through. Without hesitation, Spyro dashed through, slamming the gate open and immediately soaring upwards.

He heard the sound of a crowd gasp in astonishment as he flew away, followed by several panicked whispers and cries. But in between all these sounds, Spyro was able to discern a pair of dreadfully familiar voices. However, even as they spoke, Spyro refused to look back.

"See! There he is!" Vixen's voice shouted up at him. "The purple dragon that carried out this horrible crime, running away like a coward!"

"You see now, the proof that you demanded?" Unulus' voice picked up sternly. "I told you the story of my people, of how we were hunted like cattle and had our homes burned down by the dragons." He preached. "I knew you wouldn't believe me, so come now and see!" He shouted, rage loudening his voice.

" _See what dragon fire truly brings!"_ Unulus roared

Spyro couldn't bring himself to turn around, to look at what he had done. To look at all the horrified faces of mabu beneath him, whose eyes Spyro could feel right on top of him.

So he flew, he flapped his wings and flew away. He couldn't fight back like he was now, because now, he wasn't a Skylander, he wasn't a hero. And that's when an old enemy's words revibrated in Spyro's mind, sending him down memory lane to a dreadful encounter.

" _You are an_ animal _. Your whole_ species _are animals,"_ Tarrare's voice ringed in Spyro's ears. _"And do you know what happens to animals?"_ The dragon slayer asked. _"Animals. Get. Put._ Down _."_ Each word rung as powerfully and as venomously as they had been the first time Spyro had heard them.

And deep down, Spyro realized that right now, those words words were true. He could feel every single trace of warmth in the air vanish and the shadow of a vengeful hunter's eye fall on his back.

Right now, he was an animal being hunted.

* * *

 _Author's notes_

 _Heya, I'm back everyone. I know this took a hella long time too, but we're almost finished! Were almost at the end! I might take my time, but I will finish this story, I promise. And as always, I'm open to any questions you might have (no spoilers though)._

\- A horrible truth discovered! The dark past of dragonkind is revealed!

\- The final strech of the hunt beguins! The final battle against a venegeful and ravenous evil aproaches a devided team of heros!


End file.
